Digimon: Wild
by Twilidramon
Summary: When a strange error message appears on her computer, Tatsuya "Wild" Namekura is transported into the Digital World during the time of its greatest crisis. Using her newfound DigiPower, she and two other Digidestined hold the fate of the Digital and Human Worlds in their hands. Language and mature themes.
1. Episode 1

**Wow; it's been a long time since I've done one of these… Well, I'm going to be trying something a bit different – I hope it works! I most likely won't update this too frequently (I have other priorities) but I like this idea and I plan to do something with it…**

**Episode 1: Wild One**

Wild stared at the pages of her programming book. Then, she looked up at her computer, where her code lay on-screen for her eyes. It was nearly perfect, but there was something wrong that she couldn't quite grasp. When she debugged the program it would crash almost immediately and display a blank screen. Well, she supposed that was what she got for choosing a programming language that didn't immediately tell her what was wrong…

Combing her fingers through her wavy, nut-brown hair, she sighed. She flipped through a dozen pages of her book, scanning the words. None of it seemed to offer a solution. The book was merely a guide, anyway – it only talked about the basic types of code in the language. It didn't even go into the more complex stuff. The worst it threw at her were databases, which were a pain to set up and use; but she was well past that.

Wild took her mouse in hand and scrolled through the code itself. She examined every line, making sure that there was no bit out of place. No syntax that didn't work well with any other. No semicolon out of place. One little slip-up or misspelling would ruin a good program, and this particular program was due next Monday. She had all weekend to complete it, but she would rather get it done as early as possible and have the rest of the weekend to herself.

She narrowed her eyes at it, picking up every little detail. She was in no way a master at programming; she simply found that she had a talent for it. Everything happened in a logical order, and it was always in a neatly organized fashion. Her comments were detailed and explained how each section of code worked with the other sections to make the program work. It was so concise that someone who had no idea how to read code could understand what was happening.

Wild rubbed her eyes. She was so used to staring at a computer screen, but staring at lines of code for hours on end was a tedious and eye-watering process. She assumed that, when she got older, she would need glasses if she were to continue this career path. Still, though, she continued, ignoring the dryness of her hazel-colored eyes.

"Ah-hah!" she exclaimed. "_There_ you are!" The line of code lay before her, perfect all but for one thing that was missing – a semicolon. They were so easy to forget, even for the most top-notch programmers. She added it in and began to debug her program.

It ran beautifully, without a flaw that Wild could see. Since these programs were class assignments, the error-checking didn't have to be too extensive. It wasn't like they were being sold to the public or anything. Wild's error checking, however, covered nearly all the bases that she would ever need. She tested the user-end functions and found that all her error messages popped up at the proper times and, when entered correctly, the program flowed nicely.

Satisfied, she saved it and closed it down. She removed her school flash drive from her computer, and then inserted her own. She opened up another blank program and figured that she could make another calculator or something – they were simple and easy, but it was also easy to screw them up. She figured that she could use the practice.

Wild went onto the Internet and then to YouTube, where she selected some music from her favorites. It was always recommended to program to music of some kind – it helped the mind to relax and focus. She chose a techno-pop song in another language and blared it through her headphones. She closed her programming book and then threw it on her bed – she didn't want to have to look at it.

She stretched, yawned, and went to work. The calculator was simple and took her fifteen minutes to finish. She checked her code again and again, finding no mistakes. Satisfied with herself, she ran the program, just to make sure there were no hidden bugs.

The program started normally, and Wild entered a simple equation to test its parameters – 2 + 2. She pressed the Enter key and waited for it to calculate.

Instead of showing her the answer, a high-pitched squealing noise played through the music on her headphones. Wild gasped in surprise and tore them off, the squealing noise so loud that she could hear it as the headphones sat on the desk before her. She stared at them for a solid minute, shocked, her ears still ringing.

She glanced up at the program. It wasn't there anymore. Her computer's screen had gone completely black, but for some white text at the very top. It read:

_ERROR LOG 1337 – PROCESSING… PLEASE WAIT._

_What the hell is this, some sort of virus?_ Wild thought, staring at the message on her screen. She hadn't had a major virus in a long time and figured that she was overdue. She reached down to click her power button, but she hesitated.

The screen flickered, and it showed her something new – more text:

_PROCESSING…_

_PROCESSING…_

_DONE!_

_EXECUTING SYSTEM PROCESS 1337-a: DIVE PREPARATION…_

_SYSTEM PROCESS 1337-a EXECUTION SUCCESSFUL!_

_EXECUTING SYSTEM PROCESS 1337-b: DIVE LAUNCH…_

_SYSTEM PROCESS 1337-b EXECUTION SUCCESSFUL!_

_PROCESSING…_

_PROCESSING…_

_DONE!_

_JUST PRESS ENTER!_

Wild stared at her screen, shocked and abashed. If this was a virus, it was a silly one. What the hell was it talking about? It must be just a new type of virus.

She read the line _JUST PRESS ENTER_ again. How could it assume that she was actually gullible enough to obey?

"Screw this; you're going to sleep for a while," Wild decided. She pressed the power button with all her might.

Nothing happened. The screen didn't change at all.

Grinding her teeth, Wild got up from her chair and ventured below her computer desk, where all the power cords were. She found her surge protector and located the power source for the tower of her computer. She pulled it.

She crawled out from beneath her desk and look at her computer with a sense of triumph. That triumph, however, turned sour.

The message was still there.

Wild's eyes widened as she stared at her screen, flabbergasted. She held the unplugged power cord right here in her hand, and there on her monitor's screen the prompt was still displayed. None of this made any sense. No virus that she knew could do this. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

"Oh, shit," she swore, aghast. What computer technician would know how to fix this problem? If it were just a virus she could deal with it herself, but this was something else entirely. Wild had no idea what to do.

She tried turning off her monitor, but that did nothing. The message was still displayed proudly on her screen. _JUST PRESS ENTER_ it said, rather cheerfully.

Her eyes flickered down to her Enter key, and she sighed. "Fine," she growled. "I'll do it. My computer's already trashed; might as well see where this rabbit hole takes me…"

She sat down in her swiveling chair and sighed again. She touched the Enter key, but didn't press it. The power cord for her computer still rested in her hands, and yet the keyboard still seemed to be functioning – the Num Lock light was on, confirming that she could use the number pad if she wished.

_How is this possible…?_ She thought, confused.

Finally, Wild pressed the Enter key. Nothing happened, but more text popped up on her screen:

_WELCOME TO THE DIGITAL WORLD WILD!_

_WE HOPE YOU HAVE FUN!_

Her screen suddenly became a blinding sea of white. Wild yelped and closed her eyes, her retinas burning at the sight. For some reason, she felt wind playing at her hair, its coolness touching her body. She got the sensation that she was floating amidst nothingness, but she refused to open her eyes.

Just as she decided that she was floating, she felt herself begin to fall.

* * *

Wherever Wild landed, she landed hard. Stinging pain lanced up her backside and she cursed, her eyes still tightly shut. She coughed and decided that whatever had happened was over; she might as well open her eyes and look at the ruined state of her computer…

When she opened her eyes, Wild saw nothing but a beautiful blue sky. Huge, towering, fluffy white clouds floated lazily through the blueness. Wild stared at it in awe.

"Where the hell am I?" she wondered to herself. Wherever she was, she was all right. The ground, however, had something to be desired by the way of comfort. It was warm, but not very comfortable. She reached down to discern what sort of ground she had landed on, only to find that it felt something like sun-tanned flesh.

"Yowch!" something yelped. "Will you get offa me?"

Wild was surprisingly calm as she clambered off of… whatever she had been sitting on. She heard it give a sigh of relief. Wild stood herself up, steadying herself on the nearest tree. When she looked around, she found that she had somehow ended up in a forest of some kind.

"Is this a dream…?" she murmured to herself, taking in the sights. It sounded, smelled, and looked like a normal forest – everything seemed normal to her. Yet she knew she wasn't on Earth any more. She swallowed and got the feeling that this wasn't a dream.

"Are you all right?" someone asked. Wild recognized it as the voice who'd greeted her a moment ago.

She looked down and locked eyes with them, and her eyes widened. He was about her size, but a head shorter and humanoid, with tanned skin painted with white markings. He wore red pants tied with a black belt and red gloves. His feet were three-toed with red talons and bare. A tail made of flame poked out from his back. His hair stood up a good half a head of height on him, red and spiky. Big green eyes observed Wild, beneath a pair of sawed-off horns.

"Whoa…" he breathed. "You're a… _human?"_

"A-And you're a… a… _something!"_ Wild returned.

"Wow…" the creature sighed. He seemed mystified. "I've never seen a human like you before… have you ever met a digimon before?"

"A _what?"_

"A digimon!" the creature repeated. Then, his eyes widened further and he exclaimed, "Oh! I get it! You've never been here before! How could you know what a digimon is if you haven't ever been to the Digital World before?"

_Digital World?_ Wild thought. She recalled that her computer screen had mentioned something about that. Was this the Digital World, then? Home to these… digimon? _Well, I'm not having very much fun…_

The creature held out his hand and said, "I'm Flamemon! Nice to meet you!"

Wild stared at his hand. Flamemon's hand was about the same size as hers, if not slightly larger. He had four fingers and a thumb on each hand, like hers. Was that some sort of coincidence?

"Uh… don't humans shake hands?" Flamemon wondered, confused.

"W-We do," Wild replied. "But… we usually do that with other humans… Sorry; this has turned out to be a very, very weird night…"

"That's all right," Flamemon sighed. "You must be tired. Hey! I know a place where you can sleep for a while – if you want, I can take you there so you can rest."

"Oh, no, I'm fine; I can… uh… stay here…" Wild mumbled. "I don't think I can sleep now…"

"Oh, OK," Flamemon said, looking downhearted. "But… there's someone there that might be able to help you… would you like go anyway? I don't think that you should stay here. Dangerous digimon have been popping up in all areas of the Digital World, and they wouldn't hesitate to hurt a human if they saw one."

"Someone who can… help me?" Wild breathed. "If they can help me to go home, that would be very nice…" She would also like to avoid those dangerous digimon that he spoke of. That sounded like it would be beneficial to her health.

"Oh, I'm sure they can!" Flamemon said happily. "Come on; follow me – uh… I didn't get your name…"

Wild sighed. "Sorry," she decided. "My name's Tatsuya Namekura… but all my friends call me Wild."

_"Wild?"_ Flamemon repeated. "That sounds like a funny name, for a human…"

"Well… you're a strange thing to see… um… in general," Wild grunted. "To me, at least."

"So… why do people call you _Wild?"_ Flamemon wondered, looking quizzical. He didn't seem offended by her comment.

Wild sighed. "It's a long story… and I don't know you that well," she growled.

Flamemon gave her a smile and gestured to the world of forest ahead of them. "Well, we have a long way to go…"

* * *

"Princess!" the Boss called. "Princess, where are you?"

He looked about his castle manor and sighed. She was always playing this sort of game with him. How was he supposed to watch her as he had been instructed if she was always running off on him? He leaned against his ruby-topped cane and sighed.

"Princess Loaño!" the Boss called down the stone hallway. His voice echoed powerfully, he being the master of the castle and all. "Please, will you come out of hiding?"

The hallway was silent. The Boss sighed. He knew she was hiding down here; why did she insist upon being so stubborn? The hallway was grand and beautiful, lined with stone for its walls and carpeted with a plush red rug. Several doors led off to different rooms from here, but ultimately the hallway was a dead end. Stone pillars rose from the floor to support the great ceiling; but the Boss knew that she wouldn't be hiding up there.

He took off his hat and entreated, "Kidd, could you please bring me the Princess? I know she's with you… and I know you're here; I can smell your unwashed hide. I have something to speak with her about."

The Boss smiled with satisfaction as he heard a growl coming from the end of the hallway. A huge digimon, bigger than the Boss and nearly as tall as the room itself, appeared from behind one of the broader pillars.

He was styled after a WereGarurumon, with an anthropomorphic Garurumon body. His fur was a light periwinkle color, his markings black. His muzzle was long and scarred, and one of his ears was torn to shreds. White tape was wrapped around both his arms, and he wore ripped jeans. His feet were huge, bigger than his hands, which gripped a pair of iron knuckles that looked rather dangerous. A long, winding tail flicked back and forth behind him.

"C'mon, pup," he growled. "Ya got caught, fair an' square."

"Aw," someone whined. From behind the pillar stepped a teenage girl. She crossed her arms in front of her and threw the Boss an evil glare with her unnatural silver eyes. She was a small, slight girl, with very angled, bony features. She wore nothing very Princess-like at all: a dark green sweater which contrasted her shoulder-length blonde hair and jeans, along with black tennis shoes. A charm was worn around her neck on a silver chain, but it was hidden beneath her sweater. "You're no fun."

"Princess," the Boss sighed.

"I hate being called that," the girl growled. "Quit calling me that. I'm not a Princess."

"You kind of are," the Boss countered.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she groaned. "I know what you want and I don't know what to tell you – I can't control what _he_ does."

"Wai', wha's this 'bout?" Kidd wondered, flattening his ears. He looked between the girl and the Boss, his ice-blue eyes narrowed. "Wha's goin' on?"

"KiddGarurumon, a human has entered the Digital World," the Boss replied. Kidd's eyes widened. "And the only way that could have happened is if _he_ was the one who brought them here."

"But… a 'uman hasn't been sighted in the Digital World for…" Kidd trailed off, as if the it had been so long that no one was sure how to measure the time.

"I know," the Boss replied. "I know; and humans do not come to the Digital World for no reason. Seeing a human in the Digital World means that something big is about to happen which requires their help. It's very unlike me not to know what's happening in my own world… I'd like to know _his_ reason for bringing them here."

"I told you!" the girl snapped. "I can't control _him!_ He does what he feels he needs to do."

The Boss sighed and shook his head. "But _he_ does it through _you_, Loaño," he reminded her. "And you _do_ know why. Now why won't you tell me?"

Loaño looked up at the Boss. Then, she looked at Kidd. She looked back at the Boss and replied, "Because something's going to happen. The Digital World is in trouble. It's falling apart. I don't know exactly _what's_ going to happen, or _why_ he chose to bring this certain human here, but that's what I _do_ know."

"No, it's not anywhere near falling apart, child," the Boss told her. "Last I checked, each and every Zone was completely intact."

"The digimon are restless," Loaño went on, as if she were ignoring him. "They're becoming hostile. The human is coming here. We must be ready to meet her."

With that, the girl walked past the Boss and down the hallway. The Boss looked after her, slightly stunned. What did she mean when she said that the Digital World would be falling apart? The Boss had neither seen nor sensed anything to even hint that it was happening. And most digimon were simply restless – it was in their nature to be.

_"The human,"_ Kidd repeated, almost sadly. " 'S almost as if she forgets that _she's_ human, too…"

"Kidd, you know as well as I do that she's not _entirely_ human," the Boss reminded him. "But you are right; she hasn't been the same since she came here as a child. She doesn't know what it means to be human… and she has been living with digimon in her life for so long that she's forgotten that she _is_ a human, too. _He's_ certainly not helping with that."

"Boss," Kidd sighed. "If that human's comin' here, we'd better be ready."

"Right," the Boss decided. "Follow me."

* * *

"So… where are we going?" Wild wondered. She was walking next to Flamemon, trying to take in all the sights that she could of this Digital World. "Where are we now?"

"Right now we're in the Forest Zone," Flamemon told her. "There are many Zones in the Digital World, but the Forest Zone is the only one that crosses into both the Light and Dark Areas."

"Light and Dark Areas?"

Flamemon looked at her and explained, "Well, the Light Area is the place where we are now. The Dark Area is where we're going. The Light Area looks a lot brighter than the Dark Area, which looks like it's stuck in eternal night; yet they both have night and day cycles. It's just a lot more obvious here in the Light Area."

"The Dark Area doesn't sound like somewhere I want to be," Wild admit dryly. "Usually when something's labeled _Dark_ it doesn't mean anything good lives there."

"Well… the Dark Area is generally home to the more dangerous, darker digimon," Flamemon explained, "but there are those kinds of digimon here in the Light Area, too. There are good digimon and bad digimon and they all live together, no matter what Area they live in. Me? I like to think that I'm a good digimon."

"You haven't tried to kill me yet," Wild mentioned.

"I'm not planning on it," Flamemon chuckled. "I honestly want to know why you're here as much as you do. You see, humans and digimon have interacted before, but that was a really long time ago – at least, in the Digital World's time it was. Since then we digimon have come up with some sort of saying about you humans…"

Wild looked at Flamemon and wondered, "What is it?"

"That a human won't appear in the Digital World unless there's some sort of trouble here that will affect both worlds," Flamemon replied.

"Oh," Wild realized. "So… my being here, according to that saying, at least, means that…?"

"Yeah; it means that something bad is going to happen here," Flamemon finished. He frowned, looking determined, and he said, "But I don't want that to happen! If something is going to try and hurt my home, then I'm going to do my best to stop it!"

Wild sighed and said, "Well, I'm going to be gone before anything bad happens in your world; don't worry. I don't belong here, and I honestly don't see anything wrong here. Even if there was something wrong in your world, I don't know how I could help stop it."

"Well, usually the humans partner up with digimon and stop the crisis," Flamemon told her. "At least, that's how it's happened before. But, you're right; you won't be here long enough for anything bad to happen, I'm sure. We just have to take you to see the Princess; then she can open the way for you to go home."

Wild blinked quizzically and asked, "You have a_ Princess?"_

Flamemon frowned. "Well… she's _kind of_ a Princess…" he answered. "She's the Princess of the Digital Twilight – which is a fancy way of saying that she's the Princess of both the Light and Dark Areas."

"Wouldn't that just mean she's Princess of all the Digital World?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Flamemon mused. "But I think you'll like her, Wild. Oh! By the way, you never did tell me why you're called Wild when your real name is Tatsuya."

"Oh, yeah, that," Wild groaned. "Fine; I'll tell you. I'm called Wild because it's my -"

_"Nemesis Ivy!"_

Wild was stopped as thick tendrils of ivy sprouted from the ground and wrapped around her legs. She let out a shout of surprise as the ivy began wrapping itself all around her legs, freezing her in place. The ivy then began to crawl all over her body, spreading rapidly. It smelled strange, and Wild gagged at it. She tried to move to break free, but something froze her limbs in place as the ivy covered her body from neck to toe.

"Wild!" Flamemon shouted. He leaped to her side, his flaming tail blazing with alarm. "Don't move!" He sniffed the ivy and concluded, "Well… you _can't_ move…"

"What the hell…?" Wild demanded. Her muscles refused to respond when her mind told them to move. "What's going on, Flamemon?"

Flamemon turned away and growled, "Show yourself! Come on out, you coward!"

_"Nemesis Ivy!"_

More ivy sprang from the ground beneath Flamemon's feet. He jumped away from them, though, causing the ivy to shoot out from the ground and follow him. Flamemon growled as he led the ivy all around the small area where they were stuck, trying to lose it – but it was following him quite well.

_"Baby Salamander!"_ Flamemon shouted. He opened his mouth and flames poured from his throat, engulfing the ivy and turning it to ash. With the ivy dead, Flamemon snarled, "Where are you?"

A small green-colored creature burst from the trees and almost landed on top of Flamemon. He dodged quickly, landing on all fours beside the paralyzed Wild. It was about half Flamemon's size, and it looked like it was a little reptile made of plant matter. A purple flower bloomed on the top of their head, and black eyes glared out at Flamemon. Their feet were roots, their hands big leaves with purple claws.

"Aruraumon?" Flamemon realized, wonder in his voice. "Why is an Aruraumon attacking us?"

_"Gloomy Dust!"_ Aruraumon shouted with a raspy voice. It opened its mouth and a purple fog burst forth, spreading slowly across the ground.

"Crap!" Flamemon cursed. "Hold your breath, Wild! That stuff is poisonous!"

Wild took a deep breath of normal air and kept it within her body, fighting the urge to exhale. Flamemon covered his nose with one hand and turned his back to the smog.

_"Flame Tail!" _he shouted. His tail burst into flames, the flames reaching higher and higher. When they were a suitable height, he began fanning at the smog. The heat and air from his flames pushed the smog away from them both.

When it was safe, he whirled upon the Aruraumon and shouted, _"Baby Salamander!"_ and breathed flame all over the enemy digimon. Aruraumon had no chance to dodge, so they screeched as the flames engulfed them. When the flames cleared, all that was left was a forest-patterned egg about the size of Wild's head.

The ivy containing Wild withered, died, and disappeared into a string of ones and zeroes. She watched it disappear and breathed, "What _is_ this place…?"

"Come on!" Flamemon said earnestly. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "We need to hurry!"

She had no choice but to follow him, so she did; but she looked back and wondered to herself, _Where the hell am I… and what is this place made of?_

_What is going on here?_


	2. Episode 2

**Not having Internet is a real pain in the ass... thankfully there's more than one computer in my house that can be used! Yes, Kidd has always had that accent, I've just been too lazy to make it apparent... and if you want to make an OC, Tsuki, go ahead – I'd be happy to accept it.**

**Episode 2: The Princess of the Digital Twilight**

"How're you holding up, Wild?" Flamemon wondered.

"Just fine, really," Wild replied. She flexed her hand, finding that the feeling was beginning to return. When Flamemon defeated Aruraumon, the noxious vines had disappeared – but the paralyzing effects had lingered on her outermost extremities. Her toes had tingled for half a mile before she could feel them again, and now her fingers were finally going back to normal. "What happened back there, anyway?"

"That was an Aruraumon," Flamemon replied. "They live around here in the Forest Zone. They're not normally aggressive, though… I don't get it…"

"Maybe we invaded its territory?"

"Yeah, but they're not territorial, either!" Flamemon countered, looking confused.

Wild frowned. "Well," she began, "maybe it has something to do with me? I mean, obviously humans aren't common here. Maybe that Aruraumon saw me and thought I was going to hurt it? That would explain why it attacked me first."

"Maybe," Flamemon decided. He lowered his tail and seemed deep in thought. "But if there are any more hostile digimon around here, we'd better be careful. You're right – some digimon might be afraid of you because they've never seen a human before. If we get into any fights, just let me handle them, OK?"

"All right," Wild agreed. She was just fine with that. Judging by the way Aruraumon and Flamemon fought, anyway, she figured she wouldn't be of much use. Fighting a digimon was obviously dealing with powers that Wild didn't have, nor could she compete with. She was a programmer, not a fighter.

Still, thought, seeing that Aruraumon become nothing but a little egg when it was defeated… there was something strange about that and sad as well. And those zeroes and ones that she saw… that couldn't have been _data,_ could it? Like, _computer_ data… or even binary code? What _was_ this place – and what was it _made_ of?

Wild looked to Flamemon. _Well, he is a digimon,_ she thought, _and he does live here. Maybe he knows? But will he tell me? He's been pretty open with me so far…_

"Flamemon," Wild began, "you mind if I ask you something?"

Flamemon grunted, "Sure; shoot."

"Why did it turn into an egg?" Wild asked. "That Aruraumon, I mean."

Flamemon looked up at her and replied, "Well, all digimon come from eggs. They're called Digieggs. When we get _really_ weak, we turn back into Digieggs. The good thing is, Aruraumon probably won't remember anything about us when she finally hatches again."

"She won't? Why not?"

"Because it's like starting your life over when you hatch from a Digiegg," Flamemon replied. He sounded sad about the process, and yet he seemed to be chipper as he explained further, "See, digimon don't really _die_ – we degenerate. As we get stronger, we evolve into newer, more powerful forms… but as we get weaker, we degenerate into our weaker forms. When we get too weak to go on, we become a Digiegg. We keep some of our memories, but the majority of it all we forget when we hatch. It's a fresh new start for us!"

"Sounds interesting," Wild sighed. "So… you're born from eggs? Does that mean digimon lay eggs?"

"I suppose it does, but I've never seen a digimon lay an egg before," Flamemon commented. "Huh. I'll have to ask about that later."

"So… how old are you, then?" Wild wondered. "Have you been… reborn?"

Flamemon smiled and replied, "I'm not _that_ old, Wild! I'm still really young, but I'm really strong – you saw! I've still got fight in me!" For emphasis, he punched the air before him as if he were boxing with an invisible foe. He gave Wild a grin that she just had to return.

_This world is so strange,_ Wild thought. She stared at her hand and went on to herself, _I know I'm not dreaming… that fight earlier proved that. So… why am I here? What brought me here? What is the connection between this world and my computer… or any computer, for that matter? Is it some sort of game?_

She doubted that it was a game. These creatures seemed to really be… _alive._ They were three-dimensional, not polygons or any sort of computer-generated graphic. Flamemon seemed as real as a human being – he radiated heat, he breathed, he fought, her blinked, he spoke… He was as real as any human or animal that lived where Wild came from. So what sort of connection did this world have with the other?

"Flamemon," Wild sighed. "I have another question… and if you don't know the answer, you don't have to tell me."

"Sounds serious," Flamemon decided. He looked at her and offered, "Go ahead."

"Do you know how your world was made?"

Flamemon paused. He seemed to be thinking. After a moment, though, he said, "No; I don't. I don't know anyone who does."

"Oh," Wild murmured. "I'm sorry."

Flamemon shrugged. "Do you know who made your world, Wild?" he asked.

"No," Wild replied, "but there are people who like to guess about it. There are a lot of stories that talk about it, but they're all so different that no one can decide what to believe."

"It's sort of like that here, too," Flamemon replied. "Our world was created such a long time ago… but we don't know who created it. We have stories and theories and guesses, but that's about it. How do you think your world was made, Wild?"

"I really don't like talking about that sort of thing," Wild said coldly. "No offense to you, but it's really none of my business _how_ my world was created. I just want to live on it in peace… I want to make my own choices."

Flamemon sighed, "Oh," and then seemed to bite his tongue on the subject. Finally, he offered, "Well, we're almost to the Dark Area… and from there it's not that far at all to where we need to go. Then the Princess can take you home and you won't have to worry about us in the Digital World again."

Wild sighed and crossed her arms. "Yeah," she murmured. She looked up at the sky and found that the clouds were starting to thicken. The forest ahead of them looked much darker than the forest they'd left behind. Shivering, she looked to Flamemon and asked, "So… what can you tell me about this Princess? What kind of digimon is she?"

"Oh, she isn't a digimon," Flamemon replied.

"Then… what is she?" Wild wondered.

"She's a human."

* * *

The Boss placed a hand on Loaño's head. "I'm sorry for demanding so much of you, child," he said gently. "I know that you can't control him_._ It was wrong of me to assume that you knew the reasons behind his actions."

They stood alone in the room that the Boss had given to her while she stayed here. It was a very nice room, decorated simply, yet elegantly. Her bed was luxuriously soft and quite large, able to fit both she and three Kidds if she wanted. Her carpet was plush, her furnishings the finest that the Boss could offer (which was very fine). She had a walk-in closet, a separate bathroom, a small study corner, bookshelves, and several other amenities – along with anything else that she could possibly ask for.

Loaño squirmed beneath his hand. She pulled away and sighed, "I know, Boss; but… I really don't know _why_ he brought that human here. He didn't tell me. He just said that it was for something important."

"Humans only come to the Digital World when something is going to happen that will affect both worlds, child; that is why I was wondering. They don't just wander here on accident," the Boss reminded her gently.

Loaño sighed and pulled at her sweater. The Boss crossed his arms and offered, "Well, at least I know for sure that she'll be coming here. My sources say that she ran into Flamemon and that he's escorting her to us – to you."

"To _me?_ Why?"

"Why else? The poor thing is frightened and she wants to go home," the Boss replied. "You're the one who can take her home, since you're the one who brought her here. I could do it, but it would be better if she went back the same way she came… however that was. It was a less traditional method, that's all I know."

"He said it was a more discreet way," Loaño admitted. "An easier way to get her attention, rather than just opening a portal right in front of her face."

"True, true," the Boss decided. "So, he's not being very forthcoming with the details, is he?"

Loaño shook her head, looking frustrated. The Boss smirked – she hated it when he kept things from her like that. He was sure that the two of them bickered like a pair of siblings sometimes.

"Well, Princess, if we're to have guests, then I daresay you aren't fit to meet them," the Boss decided chipperly. He tapped her shoulder with his cane and decided, "Your personality is something that we can't do anything about, but your sloppy manner of dress is something that we _can_ change in the amount of time that we have!"

"Oh, no; you are _not_ thinking of putting me in some fru-fru sparkly-ass dress, are you?" Loaño growled. She rolled up her sleeve with one hand and went on, her silver eyes flashing, "Because if you _are…"_

"Well, it's not fru-fru or very sparkly, but it is a dress," the Boss mused. "And we are having company, so I would expect that you dress your part, _Princess."_

"I keep telling you, _I'm not a Princess!"_

"And I keep saying that you _are,"_ the Boss sighed. "And you _are,_ dear. Now, will it kill you to dress like one?"

Loaño frowned and grunted, "It _might."_

"No, it won't; now put something more fitting on. There's a nice blue-and-white one in the closet there that fits you perfectly!"

"No!"

"Princess…"

"You're not my father! You can't _make_ me do anything."

The Boss raised an eyebrow. "You may be the Princess of the Digital Twilight, but you forget your place… you're a guest in _my_ mansion. Now, do as your host asks – and he asks nicely – and put on something a bit more formal!"

Loaño opened her mouth, but she seemed to think better of it. That or he had convinced her otherwise. She rolled her eyes and, grumbling every step of the way, walked to the closet. She thrust the doors open and began rifling through her clothes.

"Get out of here while I change, you old pervert!" she snapped.

The Boss gave a small smile.

* * *

"_Human?_ I thought you said that there weren't any other humans in the Digital World!" Wild exclaimed, confused.

Flamemon threw her a quizzical look. "I didn't say that," he countered. "I said that there were no other humans _like you._ The Princess is different than you."

Wild slapped her palm to her forehead, confused and exasperated. "Of _course_ she's different than me! All humans are different from one another!" she sighed to him. "But if she's human, then what's the big deal about me being here? You said that humans only appear here when the Human World and the Digital World are in crisis!"

"She came here a long time ago," Flamemon replied. "I think she was born here. I don't really know… but she's been here a long time."

"How can another human help me get out of here?"

Flamemon shrugged. He told her, "I don't really know; but I know that she can help you; and she will. The Princess is very compassionate."

Wild sighed again, confused. She had no idea how any of this made sense – so there was another human here? And she was the Princess? And she was _living_ here? Wild didn't understand how another human would want to live here when all she wanted to do was go home. This place was beautiful, but it wasn't home.

Flamemon frowned and said, "I know it's not really a good explanation… but you'll see what I mean when you meet her, OK?"

"Alright…" Wild had no choice but to agree to Flamemon. He was her guide; he was her only way out of this place. If he was sure that the Princess could help her, then she had to take his word for it. It was better than wandering around all on her own.

The forest had gotten completely dark now, the sun covered by dark gray, mist-like clouds. The trees seemed to be a shade or two darker than they were before, too. Wild assumed that they had entered into the Dark Area. Her legs were tired, but she pressed onward – she could rest when she got home.

_Man, how am I going to explain this to my Mom when I get home…?_ She thought. She certainly wouldn't believe her, but Wild must have been missing for a few hours at least. She had to be worried. Her older brother was probably worried, too. Wild frowned at the thought of him. _Please – him, worry about anyone but himself? I expect too much from Toushi. No, he's not worried about me, but I'm sure Mom is._

"How much farther is it?" Wild wondered.

"Not much further," Flamemon affirmed. "We're almost there; we just need to stay on this trail."

Wild looked about them. The woods were beginning to give her an eerie, spooky feeling, and she didn't like it. She crossed her arms and shivered to herself. "What kind of digimon live here?" she asked.

"All kinds," Flamemon replied. "Mostly Virus-type digimon. Some of the meaner looking ones live here, too… but that doesn't mean that they're bad."

"That's what you said about that Aruraumon-or whatever that was," Wild reminded him.

Flamemon flattened his ears and insisted, "But Aruraumon really are peaceful digimon… that one was just… upset, is all. She'll be fine when she hatches again. She won't remember a thing."

"Whatever you say," Wild said, shivering, "I'm just starting to… not like this place."

"It's OK; you'll be out of here in no time, once we get to where we're going," Flamemon assured her, patting her arm.

There was warmth in the gesture, and Wild smiled back at him. This was probably stressful for him, too – he probably had a family that might be looking for him somewhere, too. Wild just wanted to go home, and he was being kind enough to help her get there. She decided not to be so short with him; it wouldn't get them to where they were going any faster, and it wouldn't make Flamemon's job any easier.

They continued walking in silence for some time, just the sound of their feet crunching on the ground below between them. Flamemon let out a warm yawn, and Wild returned it. They chuckled about that, and then kept on walking. They had a goal, and they meant to reach it soon.

Suddenly, Flamemon tackled Wild to the ground. Spitting dirt, Wild began to protest, but Flamemon placed a warm hand over her mouth and silenced her. Something exploded behind them, just where Wild and Flamemon had been a moment before. Flamemon stood up and clenched his fists, his tail blazing with flame.

"What's going on?" Wild demanded, sitting up. There was a small crater where they had just been walking together.

"Something's attacking us!" Flamemon told her.

"Again?"

"Yes, again!" Flamemon sighed. "Just hang back; I'll handle it."

_"Mushroom Mash!"_

"Wild, duck!" Flamemon shouted.

Wild did as he bid, just as something sailed overhead. It landed on the ground just behind her and another explosion shook the ground. She looked back to find another crater, identical in size to the one that almost creamed them both. _First paralyzed, and now something wants to blow us up? What is going on in this world?_ She thought.

"Gotcha!" something sneered. A short, stout creature emerged from the dark brush and revealed itself. It looked to be a humanoid mushroom, with a giant yellow-spotted purple cap on its head that covered its eyes from sight. Little purple fungi grew on its arms and legs, and it swore clashingly magenta gloves and boots, the gloves decorated with a skull-and-crossbones.

Flamemon growled, "Mushroomon!" His mane was bristling and his tail was burning with hostility, as if he were trying to scare the other digimon away. "Go away and leave us alone!" he snapped.

"Come on, Flamemon – I just want to play a little game!" Mushroomon cackled. He snapped his fingers and a small, red-capped mushroom appeared in his hand. "One where you blow up! _Mushroom Mash!"_

Mushroomon tossed the mushroom at Flamemon. It flew in a wide arc, right towards the warm digimon. Flamemon leaped into the air, gave a kick, and sent the mushroom flying right back at Mushroomon. The other digimon panicked and scrambled to get out of the way as the mushroom hit the ground and exploded, leaving a small crater behind. Flamemon landed on the ground, smiling.

"Now will you leave?" he asked.

"No! Never!" Mushroomon snapped.

"Fine! Have it your way!" Flamemon snapped. _"Baby Salamander!"_ Flames poured from his mouth as he ran at Mushroomon. Mushroomon gave a yelp and began to run, tossing mushroom bombs behind him as he fled, going circles around Wild and the trees. Flamemon chased him all the way, flames coming out hot from his mouth.

A bit of flame scorched Mushroomon on the backside, causing the digimon to give another yelp and turn about. Flamemon, surprised, crashed into Mushroomon and the two tumbled over and over one another until they hit a tree and stopped.

"Flamemon?" Wild wondered.

Flamemon stood up, wobbling, with a hand on his head. "Oooh…" he moaned. "Owww…"

Mushroomon recovered a moment later, dizzy as well. He shook it off quickly, though, and observed Flamemon with a sneer.

"Flamemon, look out!" Wild shouted.

_"Fungus Crusher!"_ Mushroomon shouted. He spread his arms and dozens of red-capped mushrooms poured out of him – they were smaller than the previous mushrooms, but they all packed an explosive power within them.

Flamemon recovered just in time to see them coming. _"Flame Tail!"_ he snapped, turned about and slapping a few away with his tail. He only hit a small fraction of them, however, and the rest exploded all around him, filling the area up with smoke.

"Flamemon!" Wild called, coughing. Worry pierced her heart as she waited for the smoke to clear.

When the haze was gone, Wild saw that Mushroomon had fled with it. Flamemon was on his knees, covered in scrapes, cuts, burns, and bruises. A few cuts even looked to be shedding some blood. Wild, panicking, sped over to him.

"I'm… fine," he coughed, holding up a shaky hand to stop her. "Don't… worry. He just… caught me by surprise; that's… that's all…"

"Flamemon…" Wild murmured. She reached out and touched him, making sure to be gentle. He was warm and his skin was surprisingly soft, like a human's. She slid an arm around him and helped him to stand, allowing him to lean on her.

Flamemon let out a cough that was accompanied by flame. "When I get my… my hands on that pudgy, stupid little Mushroomon…" he growled, baring his sharp teeth.

"Don't worry about that – he's gone," Wild told him. "He ran away."

"Serves him right," Flamemon snorted.

"It's OK…" Wild assured him. "Let's… let's just get going. Can you move on?"

"Of course I can!" Flamemon offered. He pushed away and wobbled on his feet. Wild waited, ready to catch him if he fell. He stayed on his feet, however, and managed to keep a decent grip on the ground. "I can go on. Come on; we're not that far from it now."

"Where are we going, anyway? Is it a place? Like, a building?" Wild wondered. They continued walking, but a little bit slower than before to compensate for Flamemon's newfound impairments.

"It's like a castle," Flamemon described. "Bigger than anything you'll ever see – though, I don't know if they have these kinds of castles in your world. It's big and grand and a lot of digimon live in it." He seemed to be regaining his strength as he spoke, and Wild was grateful that he looked to be feeling a bit better.

"Do you live there?" Wild wondered.

"Kind of, yeah," Flamemon replied. "I sleep there some nights. Others I just spend out here. But it's really the safest place in all the Digital World. Nothing happens to any digimon who lives there."

"Sounds nice," Wild murmured.

Flamemon smiled and pulled away from her. He hopped on his feet and smiled, saying, "Come on; we're almost there! Let's hurry!"

"Flamemon!" Wild sighed, concerned. "Don't you think you shouldn't rush? You got pretty hurt by Mushroomon…"

"Aw, it's just a couple of scrapes – nothing too serious at all!" Flamemon said, smiling. "Talking about home is getting me feeling much better! I can't wait to get back!"

Wild sighed and walked after him. Flamemon seemed much more chipper than before and plenty excited to get to where they were going. She supposed that it was his home, and he probably missed it quite a lot.

Flamemon walked ahead of her, whistling an unfamiliar tune. It sounded like a tribal song to Wild, and it was actually pretty catchy. She smiled at him and closed her eyes to think, the tune ringing through her head. Flamemon seemed to be so willing to help her, even without knowing who she was.

_It's better than being home,_ she thought, _where no one will give me the time of day… This place is so beautiful… I wonder: when I leave, will I be able to return?_

The thought of returning here shocked her. It was so dangerous, and yet she felt completely at ease here, like all her problems from the Human World were just… gone. It made her stop walking and think – what would happen if she were to stay here, and not return?

"Hey, Wild… you OK?" Flamemon wondered.

Wild opened her eyes, finding that Flamemon had stopped walking and was looking at her. He was scuffed and scraped and hurt, but he seemed to be doing just fine. She looked at him and thought, _He said that there's another human living here – that Princess. I wonder, does she like it here? Did she choose to live here?_

"It's OK, Flamemon; I'm fine… I was just thinking about something," she told him.

"Oh, OK!" Flamemon said, smiling. "That's good, I mean -!"

_"Bone Cudgel!"_

"Wild! Run!" Flamemon shouted.

Wild turned just in time to find that a great green monster was behind her. He was humanoid in appearance, but looked like an ogre. Horns topped his head and a great white mane flowed from his green scalp. Savage teeth lined his mouth, and he was rippling with muscle. A huge, spiked bone was in one of his hands, which was raised to strike. Hatred gleamed in his eyes.

She jumped to the side, terrified, as the bone slammed into the ground, leaving a hole. The creature growled and pulled out the bone from the ground, turning to strike Wild again.

Wild looked back, finding that she was surrounded by trees on all sides but the one that the evil digimon was blocking. Flamemon let out a cry as the monster raised its bone again. Wild backed up against the tree and clutched it with her hands, wishing and hoping and trying to think of something that could be done to save herself.

_"Bone Cudgel!"_

The bone came down, and Wild closed her eyes.

* * *

"Princess! Princess, where are you going?" the Boss demanded. The girl streaked past him, clad in a pretty white dress with small ruffling about the hem. She leaped onto Kidd's back and her bodyguard prepared to leap away from the Boss.

"We need to hurry, Kidd!" Loaño exclaimed. "They're in trouble! They won't make it here!"

"Gotcha!" Kidd barked.

The Boss entreated for them to come back, but they were already gone.

* * *

Wild opened her eyes and gasped.

The monster was growling and snarling, trying to dislodge its bone from a large tree that had somehow sprung up in its way. Wild swore to herself that the tree was not there when she had closed her eyes, prepared to have her head mashed in by a bone. It looked like an exact copy of the tree that was behind her, supporting her back.

_"Baby Salamander!"_

Flamemon lunged at the monster and began to breathe fire all over its body in an attempt to distract it from Wild. Wild removed herself from the throng of trees, feeling strangely dizzy. The world spun around her and she stumbled, but caught herself before she fell. She looked up at Flamemon and found that he was struggling with fending off this particular digimon.

The monster reached behind its back, grabbed Flamemon, and then threw him like a limp doll into a nearby tree. The trunk of the tree gave a shudder and leaves fell from its branches, and Flamemon lay at its roots, very still.

"Flamemon!" Wild shouted. He was still weak from fighting Mushroomon, and this digimon looked to be much worse than Aruraumon and Mushroomon combined!

She ran to him and knelt beside him, placing her hands on him. She shook him, trying to awaken him, but Flamemon seemed to be unconscious. _At least he didn't turn into an egg…_ she thought. _At least he's not… "dead"._

The monster turned to her upon hearing her outcry and growled low in his throat. Wild stood up and spread her arms, attempting to protect Flamemon. He didn't deserve to die for trying to help her.

"If you want him, you'll have to go through me!" Wild shouted, a hot streak of bravery singing through her body.

_"Bone Cudgel!"_ the monster shouted in response.

Wild cringed and shut her eyes as she prepared for the monster to decimate her with his bone. She didn't think a tree was going to spring up from nothing and save her again.

_"Knockout Punch!"_

A screech of pain forced Wild to open her eyes. A huge wolf man rose from behind the green monster, fist curled into a powerful punch with iron knuckles that looked deadly. With a single strike the monster was sprawled flat on his stomach, unconscious. The wolf man stood behind the monster, looking as if he were ready to strike again if his opponent were to rise.

"They're safe! We got here just in time!" someone said, relief in their voice. A small figure appeared from the dark trees – it was a human girl, dressed in a ruffled white dress. Her silver eyes gleamed and her blonde hair shone in the dankness. As she stood beside the massive wolf man, she looked like a toy doll made from here sticks.

"Yeah, but tha' Ogremon knocked Flamemon out," the wolf man grunted. "Hot-'eaded kid… goin' after a Champion-level digimon like 'at…"

"W-Who… who are you guys…?" Wild wondered, shaking. Her head was beginning to spin more and more and she wondered if in some past life she had been a spinning top. The adrenaline rush she'd received from her act of bravery was running out quickly, and she was losing her focus.

"Don't worry; we won't hurt you," the girl promised. She took a few steps forward and gave a little bow. "This is KiddGarurumon – or Kidd, as we call him for short – my partner and bodyguard. I am Loaño – the Princess of the Digital Twilight."

"P-Princess…" Wild repeated. _She's so small…_

"We shoul' git 'em back ta the castle," Kidd grunted, curling his lip. " 'Fore Ogremon wakes up."

"Right," Loaño, the Princess, said, nodding. She held out her hand and said, "Come with us; you'll be safe."

Wild would have taken that hand, too, if her knees hadn't been reduced to mere gelatin and given out on her. She fell to the ground and closed her eyes, seeing nothing but blackness.


	3. Episode 3

**My Internet should be fixed soon; don't worry. I have a few solutions in mind. I'm glad that you think Flamemon is adorable – that's what I was going for!**

**Episode 3: Going Home**

"Give it back, Toushi – give it back!" Wild shouted, reaching for her brother. Toushi stood above her, taller and stronger than she was. Wild reached and lunged, but Toushi dodged and weaved, sneering at her, raising the cartridge over his head higher so that she couldn't reach. He had darker hair than Wild and their mother did, a brown that was almost black. But that was when they were younger – now his hair was blonde.

"Just try and get it, little Tatsu!" Toushi teased, snickering. "I don't understand why you like video games and computers – they're not for little girls!"

"I don't care – just give it back to me!" Wild demanded, her eyes watering. "And don't call me Tatsu! I _hate_ that!"

"Aw, are you going to call Mommy and tell on me?" Toushi teased, laughing. "Tell her that I've been bad?"

Wild let out a shout and lunged at Toushi, tackling him to the ground with surprising strength. They wrestled together in the dirt, kicking and punching each other. She kneed Toushi between his legs, causing him to swear and curse loudly. Hot tears spilled from her eyes as Wild pounded on her older brother's chest and screamed, "If Tekku was here, you wouldn't be doing this to me!"

Toushi suddenly pushed Wild off of his chest and onto the ground. He stood up, face red with anger. "You leave Tekku out of this!" he snapped. "You don't even know, Tatsuya – you don't even _know!"_

He threw the game cartridge on the ground and stomped on it with all his might, grinding his heel into it. He stomped it into the dirt, despite Wild's loud protests.

"You'll never be anything," Toushi swore. "You'll never do anything important. _Ever._ You hardly knew Tekku… don't _even_ bring him up to me!"

Toushi whipped around and walked away, leaving Wild in the wake of his fury. She heard him say under his breath, "It was all _your_ fault..."

Shaking, she crawled over to the little cartridge. It was broken into three pieces, and she gathered the parts in her hand. She looked up and watched Toushi's shape disappear into the house, probably to tell Mom that she was being a pain and to punish her.

A tear rolled down Wild's cheek, and she ignored it.

"I _will_ be something…" she decided. She closed her hand around the broken pieces of the cartridge and looked up at the sky. "And you'll help me, won't you Tekku?"

* * *

Wild opened her eyes to find herself lying on a lush bed, on top of the covers. She groaned and sat up, observing her surroundings. It was a nice room – a little plain, but she was fine with that. Her head throbbed and she touched it, thinking to her dream. She wondered how she had ended up here, wherever this was.

_Is this the castle that Flamemon was talking about?_ Wild thought. And then she remembered – Flamemon!

She got off the bed and ran for the door, but someone stopped her. A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back, away from the door. Wild turned and pulled away, snapping, "Let me go!"

"Flamemon is all right," they told her. "Don't you worry about him; he's resting. Calm down, will you? You're safe."

Wild looked up at the speaker and was shocked. He looked human, but there was a strange, mysterious air that he gave off. He was taller than her, dressed in fine black clothes. He wore a top hat and a blue mask that covered most of his face. Red eyes peered at her from behind white hair. He leaned on a ruby-topped cane and regarded her with a small smile that barely concealed his sharp teeth. His pale skin alerted her to the fact that he wasn't human, yet he looked very convincing.

"Wha-what are you?" Wild wondered, wary.

"I am a digimon," he told her. "You can call me the Boss – all the other digimon do. I own this castle. The Princess and her bodyguard found you in the forest with Flamemon, correct?"

"Uh… yes…" Wild recalled. "Are they…?"

"Alright?" the Boss assumed. "Of course. Kidd is a fight-loving fool, but he would never allow anything to happen to his partner. He's quite protective."

"Where am I?" Wild asked.

"You are in my castle," the Boss replied. "It is home not only to myself, but to quite a few digimon, too. It's a place of refuge and a shelter for digimon who have nowhere else to go. It's an oasis in the desolate Dark Area, if you will."

Wild frowned and said, "I see. So… what happens now?"

"Well, I assume that you want to go home?"

"Of course!"

"Well, now that you're awake we can proceed with getting that done," the Boss told her. "The Princess is waiting for you in my solar, and she will take you back to the Human World."

Wild folded her arms together and sighed, "Well… that's kind of her…" She breathed and said, "I'm sorry for… _intruding_ in your world."

"Don't worry about it, dear; it wasn't through any of your doing," the Boss chuckled. "It's not your fault."

"But Flamemon got hurt…"

"True; but that's not necessarily your fault," the Boss told her. He laid a hand on her shoulder and offered, "We digimon are hardy folk. We can take a hit or two and be just fine. Flamemon is no exception to that rule. He was trying to protect a friend."

"A… friend…?"

"Yes; I do believe he considers you a friend," the Boss said, smiling. "He's a very loyal digimon, after all. He seems to care a great deal for you if he was willing to fight a Champion-level digimon like that."

"Champion?" Wild repeated, confused. "That one digimon – Kidd… he said something about Champion…"

The Boss smiled and said, "Well, dear, you're not going to be in the Digital World for much longer… but if you want to know, I can tell you."

"Please," Wild requested.

The Boss gestured to her and said, "Then let's walk and talk. Things are much more productive that way!"

He guided her out of the room, and they stepped into a grand hallway. Red carpet muffled their steps as they began walking. The Boss kept Wild between himself and the wall, and Wild was sure that this was merely a gesture of caution. Wild had no idea how digimon reacted to seeing a human, but they seemed to be varied.

"Digimon are like humans," the Boss began, "they come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. However, we come in many different levels of strength, and they are named – Baby-level digimon are those that have been freshly hatched. They cannot defend themselves very well and are weak and need of nurturing. In-Training-level digimon are the second stage of the Baby-level cycle, where they are beginning to learn how to defend themselves and are capable of much more than they were previously."

The Boss guided Wild around a corner and down another hallway, this one marked by a door or two here and there. He went on: "Rookie-level digimon are ones like Flamemon. They are capable of fighting and defending themselves, but they are still young and in need of training. Champion-level digimon, like Ogremon or KiddGarurumon, whom you met earlier, are more powerful than Rookie digimon, and considered oh, how do you humans say it? _Adult_. Yes, they are considered to be adults. They vary in strength – sometimes a Rookie is able to defeat a Champion, and sometimes a Champion is able to defeat an Ultimate.

"An Ultimate-level digimon is the next step. They are significantly more powerful than Rookie digimon – a Rookie cannot defeat an Ultimate – and much more powerful than a Champion… but, like I said, occasionally a Champion of significant strength can defeat an Ultimate. KiddGarurumon is a good example of this – he is capable of defeating Ultimate-level digimon. However, some Ultimates are much stronger than others… but none are so powerful as a Mega-level digimon.

"When a digimon reaches Mega-level in the wild it means that they have reached their peak in physical performance and knowledge and they have been able to age to that stage. Mega-level digimon are very, very powerful and can easily defeat any digimon Ultimate or younger… but they can have trouble defeating other Mega-level digimon. They are the most powerful digimon that are living in the Digital World… but there is legend that there are those that are more powerful than that."

Wild's eyes widened. "Wow," she breathed, processing all the information. "So… what happens when a Mega-level digimon reaches the end of their life?"

"They become Digieggs, like any other defeat digimon, and they begin their life anew. However, a digimon who reaches Mega-level and returns to their Digiegg form are more likely to retain the knowledge of all their experiences than any other level digimon," the Boss explained.

"So… what level digimon are you?" Wild wondered. "You don't look like a Rookie or a Champion or anything younger than those."

The Boss smiled coyly and teased, "Child… don't you humans have a thing where it's not polite to ask someone their age?"

"Oh, sorry," Wild said apologetically, "I didn't realize that it was a personal thing for you or anything…" She looked away from him, embarrassed.

The Boss chuckled, "Dear, it's not… but I would like to keep some secrets to myself. I've lived a long time – how about we leave it at that?"

"O-OK," Wild agreed.

The Boss smiled and led the way through some more hallways and corridors, down some steps, through another hallway, up some more steps, through a door, and up some spiraling stairs. Wild found the castle to be quiet, though the Boss had said that there were more digimon living here, and very confusing. How he – or anyone – found their way around this place was beyond her level of comprehension.

He smiled at her confusion and said, "The place we came from is where most of the digimon sleep, dear. It's daytime – they're up and about. Some of the more nocturnal digimon aren't, of course, but I accommodate all kinds. Plus, the walls are completely soundproofed."

"Ah," Wild breathed in realization.

"Don't worry; you haven't much farther – my solar is right here," the Boss promised. He led the way to the last step of the staircase. There was nothing but a door, which he opened. The room beyond was lavish and beautiful, decorated with a modern sort of Gothic style. It was a round room with a soft black-and-white patterned carpet, with walls that seemed to be made of books. A huge window looked out over a shadowy forest shrouded with gray clouds, and in the distance Wild could see a lighter, prettier, more colorful area of the Digital World.

_This place must overlook both the Light and the Dark Areas…_ she thought. _How beautiful…_

Within the room, sitting on a plush sofa with very un-Princess-like grace, was in fact the Princess. She wore a pale lavender-colored skirt with a pretty white top with little amethyst crystals embedded into its collar. She walked barefoot, her feet calloused and a bit dirty. Beside her, leaning against a wall, was Kidd, her bodyguard. He stood much taller than Wild had first thought – she estimated him to be about nine feet, at least – and he was very, very intimidating.

Wild stopped, unsure, and gave a bow. "H-Hello, again, Princess…" she said, as politely as possible. As confused as she was about this human being the Princess of the Digital World, she wasn't about to disrespect her – not in front of her bodyguard, at least. Or the Boss.

"Heh…" the Princess sighed. "You don't need to do that. Get up, will you?"

Wild looked up and obeyed, standing. She felt a little out of place, standing here in the middle of such a grand room. The Princess threw her a smirk and stood, dusting off her skirt. She stepped over to Wild and held out her hand. Wild looked down, finding that the Princess was a shorter than she'd thought – then again, she had collapsed almost as soon as they met. Everyone looked bigger when you were lying on the ground.

"And don't call me Princess," she insisted. "Call me Loaño."

"Oh, alright," Wild said tentatively. She took the Princess's hand and found that her grip was surprisingly strong, for such a small girl. "I'm Tatsuya. Tatsuya Namekura, but people call me Wild most of the time."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Well, it's because of my -"

"A-hem," the Boss coughed, interrupting Wild. She and Loaño looked to him and he continued, "Princess… shouldn't you be getting her home?"

The Princess frowned at him. "But Boss…" she began. "I don't know if I can…"

"She need to go back," the Boss reasoned sternly. "She doesn't belong here."

"But…" She seemed to be looking for some sort of excuse. "What about Flamemon? Won't he want to be here to say good-bye?"

"No buts," the Boss growled. "Send her home. She has been here too long already. It will hurt, but Flamemon will recover. We cannot afford to wait."

Wild sighed and asked, "Do I get a say in this?"

They all looked at her. The Boss frowned and mused, "I suppose that you do."

"Well, I don't blame the Boss for wanting me gone. I don't belong here," Wild told them. "This is an amazing place, but I don't exactly have the best first impression of it, considering that I was attacked three times since I got here. Not exactly rolling out the welcome wagon. But I don't want to be a burden. I have a home, and I have a family waiting for me. I don't know why I was brought here, but I need to go back. Even if I am supposed to do something for you, I don't think I can.

"You can tell Flamemon thank you for me – he was a good friend, and he saved my skin more than once. I doubt that we'll ever see each other again, but I won't forget him. I just need to go home now," Wild finished. "You know, if that's possible."

Loaño stared at her for what seemed like forever, something going on behind her silver eyes. Wild didn't know about the rest of this girl, but those eyes were definitely not human… and yet they displayed all the emotion that a human could give through their eyes alone.

"It is," she said evenly. "Are you sure that this is what you want, Tatsuya Namekura?"

A chill ran down Wild's spine at the coolness that her voice had suddenly acquired. It wasn't a icy sort of coolness, but an accepting sort that made Wild feel, well, not-so-bad about her decision to leave. Wild did, however, have a feeling that she was leaving much too soon; that there was something she could indeed do, but she had no idea what that was. How could she help when there didn't seem to be anything wrong?

"Yes," Wild replied.

Loaño gave a small nod and walked to a clear part of the solar. She waved her hand, her silver eyes flashing for just a moment – but Wild caught that moment. They seemed to glow for that split instance. A great black hole opened just before her, revealing an abyss. Green bits of what looked like data floated about the edges of the hole, all zeroes and ones that Wild couldn't translate into words.

"Then walk in, and you will be returned to the Human World," Loaño instructed. "Don't fear, Tatsuya; the transition is harmless and it is instant. You will be home before you know it."

Wild walked tentatively up to the portal and looked inside. It was indeed an abyss with seemingly no end, but there was a soft brush of cool air that touched her face from within the hole. She breathed it in, smelling the scents of home. _So, I enter through my computer and leave through a portal… _she thought. _Strange. But I suppose if that's the way, that's the way._

She looked back to those who stood in the room and said, "Thank you. I know my time here was short, but thank you all the same. I really appreciate all this… and I'm sorry to have caused you such trouble."

"It's no trouble at all, dear," the Boss insisted.

"Be safe," Kidd offered with a grunt.

"It's been an honor to meet you, Tatsuya," Loaño said with a smile. "Even though our meeting was brief, it is better than not meeting one another at all."

"Tell Flamemon thank you," Wild repeated.

"We will," the Boss promised.

Wild gave them a smile and a final wave before she turned, took a deep breath, and stepped into the portal. Cold air blasted in her face, forcing her to shut her eyes.

* * *

When she opened them, she found herself in front of her computer once again, the lights dim. Her computer's start-up screen greeted her, begging for her to log in and begin again. She was sitting in her seat, just like she had before she'd gotten the error messages that'd sent her to the Digital World.

She looked down and examined her tower to find that everything was plugged in correctly. Her computer tower was _whirr_ing and _humm_ing away, just as it normally should. She looked around her room, finding that not a thing was out of place. Her programming book was exactly where she'd placed it before. Her flash drives were all in order. Nothing was disheveled or altered in any way.

Wild sighed and tentatively logged into her computer. Everything booted up just fine, and her desktop was displayed. Nothing was altered. She looked down at the clock displayed in the bottom-right corner of her computer screen.

It was the exact same time that she had left for the Digital World. Wild looked at this curiously. What had felt like hours in the Digital World had only lasted barely half a minute here.

"Whoa…" she breathed. She clenched her hand, finding that almost all the feeling had returned – just the tips of her fingers remained slightly numb. "It was all _real."_

Wild leaned back in her chair and murmured to herself, repeating, "It was all real…"

* * *

The Boss watched the Princess wave her hand and close the portal to the Human World. She turned to the rest of them and announced, "She made it home."

"Flamemon'll be upset," Kidd grunted. " 'E wanted to see her 'fore she left."

"Those two…" the Boss smirked. "If she could have stayed, those two would have made good partners… if they were compatible, that is. Flamemon isn't like other Digimon. He can't simply partner with a human on a whim… there has to be a very strong connection there."

"It was there," Loaño reasoned. "There was faith. There was trust. They were friends, and they only knew each other for a few hours. Those two are partners, and he will be genuinely upset to find out that she's gone and he didn't get to say good bye."

"That's not possible," the Boss reasoned. "You cannot build faith and trust in a person within such a short time… but I shouldn't dispute you, I suppose. There's nothing more we can do about it. She's gone."

Loaño was silent.

Kidd looked at her, his icy eyes narrowed. "Pup…" he rumbled, "that ain't the last we're gonna see'a her, is it?"

"No," Loaño replied hesitantly.

The Boss raised an eyebrow. He felt something stir deep down in his Core. He tapped his cane on the ground and sighed, "Then that means there really is trouble in the Digital World, doesn't it?"

"Yes," the Princess murmured. "What, though, I don't know. I only have this vague idea…"

"And he thinks that she can stop it?"

"Yes, but not alone, of course," Loaño replied. "Since when has there only been one Digidestined?"

"So… when shall we be expecting these… others?"

"I don't know – not yet. It's too soon," Loaño answered.

The Boss tapped his cane again. He closed his eyes and sighed, saying, "So disaster strikes the Digital World once again, and no one knows when or how." He took a deep breath, and then said with a more chipper tone, "I suppose that we should prepare, then – keep a weather eye out, and all that. No one knows, but I will be watching… always watching."

Loaño looked up. Then, she said, "Kidd… you saw what she did, didn't you?"

Kidd pricked his ears and grunted, "Hm?"

"What Wild did – to protect herself from Ogremon."

"Oh, 'at?" Kidd rumbled. "Yeah, 'at was weird. Sa'ed her skin, though."

"Oh? And what are we talking about now?" the Boss wondered.

"Kidd and I saw Wild and Flamemon fighting that Ogremon… Before we rescued them, the Ogremon went after Wild. Flamemon was too weak to help, and Wild somehow summoned a tree to block Ogremon's attack," Loaño explained.

"She summoned a… _tree?"_ the Boss repeated. "How could a human…? How could she manipulate our world like that?"

Loaño took a breath, and then said, "I think she might be -"

"Don't," the Boss interrupted. "Don't finish that thought, child. Many impossible things are possible, but that thought there – for I know what you were going to say – that is just _improbable."_

"But possible," she countered.

"Possible, but not at all likely."

"It was just a thought."

"And a thought it shall stay," the Boss decided. He touched the brim of his hat and said, "We should go. We've done what we had to do here. All else will come in time."

Loaño looked out the window. She frowned and said, "Yes… I suppose that it will."


	4. Episode 4

**Episode 4: The Bond of a Partner**

The days were starting to get warmer. It was a wonderful sign for those who went to school, simply because it meant that school would soon be over come summer. Buds were opening on trees and the grass was turning a wonderful shade of green. Wild stood on the front stoop of a small house and knocked on the front door again, getting a little impatient.

She waited, hearing movement in the house. She looked around the front yard, finding it well-manicured. She supposed that there was a lot of time in the day to look after gardens and trim grass, but the subject just wasn't in Wild's interest at all.

_Besides,_ she thought, _the grass here isn't as pretty as it was in the Digital World._

It had been two days, and she hadn't been able to stop thinking of her experience there. It was all so fresh in her mind, as if it had happened just a moment ago. She could smell the clean air, hear Flamemon's joking voice, picture the Princess and her bodyguard and the Boss. Sometimes her body still felt numb, or she thought of Ogremon attacking her. She dreamed of the place at night, too – running around in the woods with no clear, discernable path to be seen.

She had done as much research as she could on the Digital World, taking the entire weekend and holing herself in her room. She found nothing. But it was real, and she knew that – there had to be some record of it somewhere. The Internet had yielded no secrets, yet that was the best place to find what was to be kept hidden. Perhaps the humans who went to the Digital World were sworn to some sort of secrecy? But that didn't make any sense – why not make Wild swear it, too?

Either way, she had no intention of revealing her experiences to anyone. They wouldn't believe her, and she didn't want to possibly put the Digital World in danger.

The front door opened, breaking Wild out of her train of thought. A girl her age stood in the doorway. She was by no means "attractive"; at least, not in the pop culture sense. In fact, to Wild, she looked pretty much normal, just a bit shorter than she was. She was slightly pudgy, but it wasn't incredibly obvious; with scraggly, unkempt brown hair. Freckles dotted her face, which was characteristically indifferent, and her eyes bored holes into… well, whatever part of you she happened to be staring at. A backpack was slung over her shoulder.

All in all, she was an incredibly bored-looking girl.

"Hey, Meg," Wild offered.

"Good morning, Tatsu-chan," Meg returned.

Wild frowned and said, "How many times have I come over here and each time have told you that I _hate_ being called that?"

"All of them," Meg replied, yawning. "And all of those times I say the same thing back to you – I really don't give a flying fuck."

Wild sighed and asked, "To school, then?"

"To school," Meg repeated boredly. "I'm not even in school and yet the thought of work is turning my stomach."

"You're quite possible the laziest person I've ever met, Meg," Wild sighed, "and yet we're friends. How the hell does that even work?"

"I don't know, and I don't care, Tatsu-chan," Meg grunted in reply. "Let's just go so I can sleep."

* * *

"He's so sad," Loaño lamented. "I told you he would be!"

The Boss sighed. "There's nothing that can be done about it, Princess; the girl's gone home. Where she belongs. We had an agreement on this."

"Yeah, but…" Loaño sighed. "He's so… sad."

The Boss looked over to Flamemon. The digimon was sitting up against a gloomy tree in the castle courtyard, staring off into the distance. The Boss thought that the tree accurately described Flamemon's mood, and the dreary atmosphere seemed to accentuate it. He did indeed seem very forlorn, especially after he found out they had sent Wild home without letting him say good bye. Even his tail seemed to have lost its spark, its flames smaller than they were normally.

"You see? They _are_ partners," Loaño insisted, gesturing to Flamemon's dismal mood. "You can't separate a bond like that."

"Wild doesn't belong here."

"Maybe she does!"

"Princess, I told you – your theory is groundless," the Boss growled. "I have lived in the Digital World since its beginning. I would know."

"It's not _my_ theory," Loaño countered quietly. She stood up and walked over to Flamemon, her bare feet silent in the grass. She sat down beside him and took his hand. Though it wasn't the comfort that Flamemon was looking for, it was something, and he gave her a sad smile.

The Boss sighed again and crossed one of his legs over the other. _Child, you don't know what you're suggesting,_ he thought. _But if it's true; if the Digital World is in peril and _they_ are the only ones who can save it, then I suppose that we'll be seeing them again soon…_

He tuned into their conversation, his ears perfectly capable of doing so. He picked up their words acutely, listening without looking as if he were listening.

"I'm fine," Flamemon insisted. "I just… need to think about some stuff."

"That's OK," Loaño assured him gently. "You might see her again; you never know!"

"I… I think I'm going to go for a walk, OK?" Flamemon offered the Princess.

"Do you want company?"

"No, I'll be fine."

Flamemon stood up from the tree and began walking. Loaño waited until he was out of the courtyard and into the forest before she stood and walked back over to the Boss. She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.

"See?" she said. "He's upset."

"That's obvious; but there's no guarantee that Wild is just as upset," the Boss reminded her.

"People deal with it differently," Loaño reasoned. "I mean, I feel a bit anxious when I'm apart from Kidd, and I know he gets worried when he's without me… but I know he's safe. I can sense it… and he knows that I am, too. If I wasn't, he'd be at my side within a heartbeat."

The Boss smirked and said, "Then perhaps I don't fully understand the concept of partnership… seeing as how I have never had one… nor do I intend to."

"If anything were to happen to me… Kidd would be able to feel it. And if anything were to happen to Kidd, I would feel it, too," Loaño reasoned. She touched her heart and told him, "That is the bond of a partner."

* * *

Wild sat down, setting her plate in front of her. Her school's food was actually very good, for a school lunch, but she didn't feel all that hungry. Her mind was in too many places for it to register hunger. Well, it was really only in one place – the Digital World.

She looked up and watched Meg stuffing food into her face, using her spork as if it were a shovel. Wild had known Meg long enough to know that, while she didn't care about much of anything, she did care about having a good, tasty meal.

The cafeteria was raucous with teenagers of all grades sitting down with their friends and eating. It was hardly ever quiet during lunchtime, but Wild and Meg preferred to seat themselves somewhat… _away_ from everyone else. Mostly because Meg couldn't stand listening to the latest gossip or bit of humor from the other kids – and neither could Wild. It wasn't honestly anything that she cared for, especially not now.

_I should have stayed home today,_ she decided. Her stomach cringed at the thought of food. She had eaten lightly over the weekend, and even then she hadn't felt too great about it.

"What the hell is bothering you?" Meg demanded suddenly, drawing Wild out of her thoughts. Wild focused herself back onto her friend – her eyes had wandered a bit with her thoughts – and observed that Meg was glaring at her with a mouthful of food in one cheek.

"N-Nothing…" Wild replied.

"Don't give me that," Meg growled. She tapped Wild's plate with a chopstick and commented, "You don't eat much of anything when there's something on your mind. Remember that project you and me did? You didn't eat anything but a fucking cracker for three days, Tatsu-chan."

"Why do you care?" Wild wondered.

"I don't," Meg grunted. "I was just pointing that out to you. And I was going to ask you if you were going to eat your dumpling."

"Obviously not," Wild replied. She handed the generous portion of steamed bun over to Meg, who placed it on her plate next to her own share. "You can have the rest of it. I'm not hungry."

"I like food, Tatsu-chan, but I can't eat _that_ much," Meg grunted. She shrugged and said, "Maybe you should go home if you're not feeling well. Sort through whatever the hell is occupying that head of yours."

Wild rubbed her eyes and said, "Yeah; maybe I should. I'll go call my Mom. Maybe she can pick me up."

"Good luck, Tatsu-chan," Meg sighed. "Hope you feel better, and so on."

Wild stood up and took her plate in hand. She walked over to the trash cans and deposited them there. A strange feeling coursed up and down her spine, giving her chills. Her head spun, and she grasped the rim of a trash can to steady herself.

She looked up at the wall, trying to focus, and found that it was all beginning to blur together. The bricks became a canvas for the world that she had been thinking of – the Digital World. She was looking into a foggy forest with dark overtones and a shady atmosphere – the Dark Area's half of the Forest Zone. A red creature was traveling through the forest, looking moody and forlorn.

"Flamemon," Wild murmured.

Her friend stopped walking suddenly, as if he'd heard her voice. Suddenly, the trees began to rumble and crash to the ground soundlessly as a great blue monster burst forth to roar into Flamemon's face.

"Flamemon!" Wild said, a little louder. She blinked, and the Dark Area was gone, replaced by the bricks that formed the cafeteria of her high school. She swallowed, her heart pounding, confused. What had she just seen? Why had she seen it?

"Hey, mate, are you all right?" someone asked.

Wild turned to find that a classmate of hers was waiting to use the trash can, his empty lunch container in hand. He was an unfamiliar face, but he had a striking appearance – his face was long and he looked foreign. Very curly, dark hair covered his head and reached to his shoulders. Olive-green eyes blinked at her, displaying confusion.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Wild replied. "Sorry."

He shrugged and threw his lunch away. He gave her one last look before turning and walking away, back into the throng of eating students. Wild didn't wait to watch where he went – she took a deep breath and fled into the hallway, hoping to get to the office before another one of those spells hit her.

_I just haven't had much sleep,_ she thought to herself. _It was all that looking on the Internet…_

As she walked down the hall, she passed the computer lab. The door was open, and cool air gently touched her skin from within. It was kept open for students who needed to print something or work on homework during lunch. It didn't look like there was anyone inside.

Wild stopped before the lab, looking at one of the computer screens. All of the monitors were shut down, aside from one. It was a black screen, but the white text on it read:

_JUST PRESS ENTER!_

"No way," Wild breathed. _This can't be happening…_ She walked up to the computer screen and stared at it, confused and slightly disturbed. Was this really happening again, and at school, no less?

Could she really go back?

She looked behind her. No one was in the hallway – all the students were still eating. She looked back at the computer. If her dizzy spell was somehow correct, then that meant that Flamemon was in some sort of danger. She didn't want him to get hurt.

_It can't hurt to try,_ she told herself.

She pressed Enter on the computer's keyboard.

* * *

Flamemon walked through the forest, alone. Everything was quiet. The woods were shrouded in a haze, but Flamemon had no trouble getting through it. He was used to living in both the Dark Area and the Light Area – neither atmosphere did much to hinder him. The leaves rustled lightly on the trees, a little breeze stirring his mane.

He looked up and sighed. "Man…" he breathed, "I really do miss her… we didn't know each other long, but I miss her… I wonder if she misses me."

"Aww… who is it that you're missing so badly, little digimon?"

Flamemon pricked his ears. The sound of that voice made him feel like he was being ridiculed, and not in a joking way. He turned to find a being, not so much taller than him or Wild. Flamemon took a step back, wary, all his hair standing on end. The flame on his tail blazed and crackled a little more as he regarded this person with apprehension.

He couldn't tell, but he was sure that it was a human – however, they were wearing a black cloak that seemed to swallow all defining features that they had. With the hood drawn over their head, Flamemon had naught but their voice to tell that they were male. All he could see was the sneer on his face.

"Who are you?" Flamemon demanded, bristling. When he'd encountered Wild, he'd gotten the sense that she meant him no harm – that she just wanted to go home. This person, however… they were giving him the exact opposite vibes. He didn't like it.

"Like I'd tell you," the cloaked young man sneered. "But fine; I'll give you a name – not that you'll be around long enough to tell anyone else. I'm called Aws, here in the Digital World… what a stupid place. So not cool – like you."

Flamemon frowned. He was slightly confused – what the hell did "cool" mean? He took another step back; prepared to leap to safety should this Aws person attack. He was also prepared to go on his own offensive, just in case he couldn't escape and make it back to the Boss's castle.

"What do you want?" Flamemon growled.

"That's not going to matter to you," Aws replied tartly. "I need to be rid of you, so I'll be doing that now, if you don't mind. Allomon – come and play with our new friend, will you?"

Aws raised a hand and snapped his fingers. The sound hurt Flamemon's ears as it rang out in the forest until all was still.

And then Flamemon felt it – a vibration in the ground beneath his feet. Flattening his ears, Flamemon crouched, prepared to strike.

"Oh, this should be a great show," Aws chuckled. "Bye, you little pest – I'm sure to get a nice pat on the back for destroying you…"

Flamemon roared and leaped at Aws, but he snapped his fingers a second time and disappeared, his body breaking into black-and-purple bits of data. Flamemon landed in the space where Aws had stood, snorting flame. Meanwhile, he felt the vibrations beginning to quicken beneath his feet.

He looked up, finding that the trees had parted – no, they had been felled to the ground – by a massive digimon in the shape of a dinosaur. A huge muzzle filled with sharp teeth hung open before Flamemon, causing him to step back. The dinosaur was covered in red stripes and markings, along with some jewelry around its neck and fur-lined bracelets around its muscled wrists. The beast had huge, strong legs – Flamemon knew he wouldn't be able to run from him. Feathers and bones decorated Allomon's mane. He glared down at Flamemon, his eyes empty and filled with hatred that Flamemon could nearly feel.

Allomon roared, _"Dino Burst!"_

A ball of flame burst from Allomon's mouth, and Flamemon leaped back to avoid it. The flame crashed against the ground, leaving a smoldering crater about the size of Flamemon himself.

_Oh, Yggdrasil – what am I going to do?_ Flamemon thought, fear twisting his Core.

"_Flamemon!"_

Flamemon turned around to find a familiar shape running through the trees. His eyes widened, and he couldn't help but shout, "Wild!"

Wild skidded to a stop beside him and looked up at Allomon. Fear crossed her face, but determination replaced it quickly. "I made it in time – good!" she said. "What's that?"

"That's an Allomon," Flamemon explained.

"Can you fight it?"

"Not easily!" Flamemon told her quickly, sensing that Allomon was gearing up for another attack. "The Boss told you about Rookies and Champions and Ultimates and stuff, but he didn't tell you about Armor-level digimon. It's a special type of digivolution that only certain digimon can do – Allomon is an Armor-level digimon. Its power is comparable to a Champion's, but it varies between weaker than a normal Champion or stronger, depending on the digimon!"

"Let me guess – this one is a stronger one," Wild grunted.

"Yeah," Flamemon told her.

"Of course," she sighed. "So, what do we do?"

"Fight it and hope help comes," Flamemon replied. However, he had the feeling that help wouldn't be coming – that Aws person would make sure of that, if he really wanted to be rid of Flamemon for some reason. He wondered if that cloaked man had taken Wild's presence into account – just seeing her again made Flamemon feel much stronger than he normally did.

"I get the feeling that help isn't going to come this time," Wild said matter-of-factly, as if she were thinking the same as Flamemon. "We're on our own… but we can do it."

Flamemon smiled and nodded, saying, "Yeah; we can."

He looked up to Allomon and shouted, _"Baby Salamander!"_ Flames poured from his mouth, landing at various places on Allomon's body. The dinosaur gave a pained roar and stepped back, shaking the earth beneath him.

"_Dino Burst!"_ Allomon roared. Another ball of flame rocketed towards Flamemon and Wild.

Flamemon stopped short, unsure for a moment. Wild pushed him out of the way of the blazing ball of fire, sending him sprawling to the ground. Flamemon recovered enough to shout Wild's name as she threw up her hands, as if they could stop Allomon's attack.

And then the strangest thing happened.

The earth all around Wild rose like stony walls, hardening and surrounding her. Allomon's attack struck the earthen walls, destroying them and revealing Wild as if she were some sort of prize in a hard-to-open box. Wild stood there, unharmed, her palms open and glowing with white- and red-colored data, like almost like Aws's hand had earlier.

Allomon reared back, shocked, roaring incoherently. Finally, he snarled, _"Dynamite Head!"_ He rushed at Wild, head-first.

"Wild!" Flamemon shouted.

Wild dropped and touched the ground with her glowing hands. The data spread all over the ground around Allomon, as if it were a pool. Vines thicker than any Flamemon had ever seen rose from the ground and wrapped themselves around Allomon, ensnaring his legs, his neck, his jaws, and his tail and bringing him to the ground just before Wild. Allomon struggled and snarled, trying to break free – but he couldn't.

Flamemon dashed over to Wild, awed and confused at the same time. He didn't know that humans were capable of doing _that_… at least, not until now. Wild sank to her knees, looking exhausted. Allomon's thrashing began to quicken as the vines looked to be releasing their hold on him.

Wild touched her head and mumbled, "Oh… uh… what… what's happening…?"

_I don't know, but Allomon's getting out,_ Flamemon thought. _If he gets out, then Wild's finished! I can't let that happen!_

Flamemon slid in front of Wild and snapped, "Oh, no you don't – _Rolling Salamander!"_ His mane and tail burst into flames, and he leaped, rolling into a ball as he hit the crest of his jump. Flames engulfed his body and he shot at Allomon at a high speed just as the dinosaur broke free of the vines and was getting up.

He slammed into Allomon's head, causing the digimon to hit the ground again. Flamemon uncurled as he was sent flying away from his target and shouted, _"Baby Salamander!"_

Flames poured out of his mouth and engulfed Allomon. The digimon roared and writhed, defenseless, as the flames ate at his body. Flamemon landed beside Wild as the smoke cleared, revealing a blue- and red-striped Digiegg in Allomon's place.

Panting, Flamemon turned to Wild and found that she was looking weak, but not unconscious. Flamemon grabbed her and pulled her up to her feet, throwing one of her arms around his shoulders. She slumped a little, she being taller than him, but he held her up as best he could.

"I don't know what happened, but if anyone can explain that, the Boss can," Flamemon decided aloud.

"Did we… did we win, Flamemon?" Wild wondered tiredly.

"Yeah, we did," Flamemon replied. "I wouldn't have been able to fight that Allomon without your help, Wild. Thank you."

"I'm sorry…" Wild sighed. "I didn't… I didn't say good-bye…"

Flamemon smiled and told her, "That's OK. Come on… let's get you back to the castle. You look like you're about to pass out…"

* * *

Aws frowned. "Well," he grunted, "that didn't turn out quite like I thought it would… didn't count on _her_, of all people, showing up here…"

He stood overhead, floating on a bit of data that supported his feet. He stared at Allomon's Digiegg and growled, "Though I suppose you weren't as useless as I thought… The others will find this _very_ interesting… we'll have to get moving on our plan sooner than we thought, if _she_ is what I think she is…"

Aws turned around and frowned. "Things should be getting very interesting…"

He snapped his fingers, disappearing in a cloud of black- and purple-colored data.


	5. Episode 5

**I want to get to showing off some other characters soon! Hoo boy, it feels like this exposition has taken forever!**

**Episode 5: DigiPower**

The Boss placed a cold cloth over Wild's forehead. "Well, dear," he wondered, "how are you feeling?"

Wild touched the compress and felt it beginning to relieve her headache. "Better," she replied. "But I still feel like someone decided to wring out each of my limbs."

"Well, it's good to see you again," Loaño offered. She poured some hot water into a cup filled with what Wild assumed were tea leaves. "Though the circumstances are a little unfortunate." She took the cup over to Wild and placed it in her hands. Wild sniffed the tea, smelling sweet and tangy scents all at the same time, before she took a sip. It was good, so she drank a little more.

"Can someone explain to me what happened, though?" Flamemon wondered. "It doesn't make any sense. Wild just started… _changing_ things."

The Boss raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that, Flamemon?" he asked, his expression giving nothing away. Yet as Wild observed him, she got the sense that he knew more than he was letting on. "Explain what happened."

"Well, I was walking, see, and then this guy shows up – he's wearing a black cloak over his body, and I can't tell a thing about him… but I'm sure that he was human," Flamemon began. "He called himself Aws, and then he said he was going to destroy me and he summoned Allomon. Then he disappears… and then Wild shows up. Allomon attacks me and she pushes me out of the way… and she blocks his attack with the ground!"

The Boss blinked, and then looked over at Loaño. She shrugged in return, looking interested and confused. Kidd was frowning just behind her, his tail flicking back and forth with something that Wild couldn't identify.

"After that she tied him down with some vines and I defeated him," Flamemon finished. He flicked his flaming tail and asked, "But can someone tell me _how_ Wild could do that?"

"Yeah; I'd like to know, too," Wild sighed. "I was at school and I got this… _vision_ of Flamemon fighting Allomon alone. I went to the nearest computer and found that I could get back here. When I got here and found Flamemon… when I saw him in danger… I felt something strange. My hands started glowing, and I just _did_ stuff. I did whatever I could to keep Flamemon safe."

The Boss looked again at Loaño, more or less glaring this time. Loaño raised her eyebrows and threw up her hands, insisting, "I had nothing to do with it, Boss – I didn't bring her here! I don't think he did, either! I didn't know that Flamemon would be in danger… he's not _my_ partner…"

Kidd blinked and then asked, "Show us wha' ya mean, Wild – show us that glow."

Wild frowned and said skeptically, "I don't know if I can bring it back or not, but let me try…" She closed her eyes and dug as deeply inside of herself as she could. She touched a great reservoir of some strange, warm feeling within her heart and soul and, when she opened her eyes, the hand that wasn't holding the cup of tea was blazing with white- and red-colored bits of data, as if her hand was on fire.

The Boss stepped closer and bent to examine the flame. He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure _what_ that is…" he admitted. "I've seen something similar portrayed by humans – called DigiSoul – but this is nothing like that. You say that this power helped you to manipulate the earth?"

Wild nodded and replied, "I used it to protect myself from Allomon… and then I used it to grow vines and tie him down."

"So it must be safe to assume that this is what caused that tree to spring up out of nowhere to defend you from Ogremon's club," Loaño reasoned, her silver eyes flashing contemplatively. "So, what do we call it? DigiPower? That sounds fun."

"I'm not worried about _naming_ it, Princess," the Boss grumbled. "I'm worried about the _implications_ of it. Flamemon, you said that the human you encountered – Aws – glowed like this?"

"Yeah, but his was black and purple," Flamemon replied, nodding. "Looked nasty. And that Allomon… he didn't look right – he didn't look like he could think clearly. I don't know anyone who can just _command_ an Allomon like that."

"Nor do I," the Boss sighed. "I think it's safe to assume that Aws is the one behind the manipulation of the digimon's minds… he and the group that you said he mentioned, at least. I think it's also safe to assume that this… _DigiPower_ is dangerous in the wrong hands. We must stop Aws and his group before they do any real damage to the Digital World."

"I _told_ you," Loaño sighed. "I told you that something was going to try and destroy the Digital World – wasn't Wild's appearance enough for you to believe me?"

"I needed proof, Princess," the Boss insisted. "Now that I have it, we must consider what to do from here." He stood up and took a step back, leaning on his cane. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. It seemed like forever before he opened them again and asked, "Wild, what drove you to activate your DigiPower?"

Wild sighed and tried to recall. She managed, "I saw Flamemon in danger and I wanted to protect him. I felt something warm… sort of like a fire, but it didn't burn me. I felt it in my heart. And then…" She lifted her glowing hand. "I didn't want to hurt Allomon, I just wanted to protect Flamemon and save Allomon if I could. I could feel something strange within Allomon… some sort of corruption in his body, like a poison. He was hurt, and I wanted to alleviate the pain… but I couldn't. I tried, but that's not what happened."

"So you created something that would help you to defend yourself and Flamemon from Allomon… and also to protect Allomon from himself, is that right?"

"I suppose so, yes…"

"So your DigiPower is Creation!" Loaño decided. "You created that tree to stop Ogremon from killing you, and you created all those other things to stop Allomon!"

The Boss's frown didn't go away. He tapped his cane against the ground and ordered, "Quiet, Princess… there's something important that I need to tell Wild. Her DigiPower is obviously not meant to harm the Digital World, but to help it – so I might as well tell her more about our world, so that she can better understand this place."

Loaño fell silent, and she nodded in agreement. She sat down on plush chair, leaning back as if to relax. Kidd grunted and remained where he was, leaning up against the wall of the Boss's solar. The Boss turned to face Wild and Flamemon as they sat together.

"The Digital World is exactly what it seems – digital. Everything you see here is made from what you humans call a program," the Boss began. "The environments, the digimon, the weather, and even the buildings are all made of data: zeroes and ones compiled into visually acceptable images that function like real things."

Wild's eyes widened. "What…?" she breathed.

"I'm not done," the Boss told her. "There's actually a lot more, but it's not something we need to go into at the moment. We digimon, however, are programmed to be compatible to humans – more specifically, there is a digimon here that will correspond to a human in the Human World. The digimon is designed to be that human's partner – to fight and grow and live with their human. Do you understand?"

Wild nodded, though hesitantly. So this world was one great big computer program? Wild frowned – at least that would explain all the data that she had seen. She glanced at her hand, wondering what her DigiPower – she supposed that was what they were calling it – had to do with what she'd done against Allomon and Ogremon.

"So… where is my partner?" she asked. "You said that all humans have one – where's mine?"

The Boss pointed the end of his cane at Flamemon. "Right there," he replied.

Wild looked to Flamemon and blinked, surprised. "You? You're my partner?" she wondered.

Flamemon frowned and replied, "I guess so… I mean… it would explain that dream you had of me when you were in the Human World… and why we met. I'll be your partner, Wild… if you don't mind, that is…"

Wild considered it, and then replied with a small smile, "No, I don't mind; not at all." Flamemon smiled and wrapped his arms around her, his tail blazing with excitement. Wild fell back against the sofa, trying her best not to spill her tea all over herself and the Boss's nice furniture. She looked to the Boss and then asked, "But… how did you know?"

The Boss sighed and told her, "Flamemon isn't like normal digimon – he won't digivolve any further unless he encounters someone who bears the Spirit of Flame. There are a few other digimon like him, who require that they have a human partner that shares their spirit to digivolve. I had a feeling when I first saw you… but seeing the red in your DigiPower, I can sense the Spirit of Flame within your heart, Wild. Seeing Flamemon in danger activated it, and it is yours."

Wild looked at her hand, then at Flamemon, who was still clinging to her like an excited child. She frowned and wondered, "But… my power – you said that it was Creation. Fire doesn't create, it destroys. How can I have the Spirit of Flame?"

Loaño piped up, "Fire can create life as much as it can destroy it, Wild – fire's warmth nurtures and helps things grow. Its light brings health and beauty. But you're right – it is a double-edged sword… Flame can destroy, too… but only if you lose control over it."

"She's right, you know," Flamemon said, almost bashfully. He pulled away from Wild and sat back where he had been before. "I'm a fire-based digimon, but I don't like to destroy."

Wild looked at them all, feeling assured of herself. She felt trust for these digimon and the Princess, and an almost overwhelming sense of friendship wit Flamemon. She looked to Loaño and wondered, "So… KiddGarurumon is your partner?"

Loaño nodded and replied, "Yeah; he's not just my bodyguard – he's my partner. He has been for a long time." She looked to Kidd and smiled, and the wolf man returned it to her as a smirk. "When a digimon is your partner, you can control when they digivolve, too. Kidd was a Champion-level when I met him, and I don't mind that he stays like this… but he has other forms. You just have to unlock the ability to let your digimon go that far. Your partnership has to grow and, as it grows, that power will become available to you."

"So… that's how I digivolve Flamemon?" Wild wondered. She looked to him and asked, "What do you digivolve into? Anything like Kidd?"

Flamemon shrugged, "I don't know, really. We never really know what we'll be until we change."

"Flamemon's forms are variations of the Ancient Warrior digimon AncientGreymon – the Spirit of Flame contains that digimon's legacy, and a piece of it lives within Flamemon… but it must also live within a human in order for their full potential to be unleashed. There are eleven Spirits just like this – all the legacy of the Ancient Warrior digimon." The Boss smiled and added, "Just a bit of our lore to think about."

"So… there are eleven other digimon like Flamemon?" Wild wondered.

"Not necessarily," the Boss replied. "Most of the Spirits' Rookie forms don't exist. They simply haven't been created yet. But the Spirits of Flame and Light do exist – Flamemon is right next to you, Wild… but the Spirit of Light is somewhere else. They are the only digimon of their kind, so finding them isn't exactly easy."

"Wow…" Wild breathed. "So… what do we do now?"

"We figure out what this Aws fellow is up to," the Boss decided. He stood up tall and tapped his cane against the ground. "And we stop him and anyone else helping him. If the Digital World is going to be under attack, then we must stop it before it reaches the Human World. Understand?"

Wild, Flamemon, Loaño, and Kidd nodded in unison. Flamemon stood up and asked, "How do we begin?"

The Boss began, "Wild, Flamemon, I want you two to investigate the place where you fought Allomon. More specifically, I want you to bring me his Digiegg. It will contain the information that I need to see just what exactly is causing these digimon to become unstable."

"Right," Wild agreed. She stood and clenched her glowing hand into a fist. "I'm ready."

"Princess, I want you and Kidd to remain here," the Boss added.

Loaño's eyes widened, and she stood up. "But -!" she protested.

"No; your safety is crucial," the Boss insisted. "If they lay their hands on you, digimon will lose all their hope. We'll be doomed if you fall into their hands."

"I'm not some helpless little Botamon here!" Loaño insisted. "I can take care of myself!"

"I don't care," the Boss snapped. "You're staying here. I'm sure Kidd agrees with me – your safety is one of our top priorities."

Loaño narrowed her eyes at him and snorted before turning and storming out of the solar, slamming the great door behind her. Kidd pricked his ears and sighed. He pushed himself off the wall and plodded after her, saying nothing to the Boss or anyone else regarding his partner's temper.

The Boss stamped his cane against the ground again and looked to Wild and Flamemon. "Get going," he told them. "And be careful."

* * *

_"You failed, Aws… I am disappointed in you…"_ it _hiss_ed to him.

Aws cringed at the thought of failure. It burned him inside, searing a pit into his stomach. He didn't come here to fail – and he wouldn't! Failure was not an option, and he would fight his hardest to prove that he was worthy of standing before the ruin of the Digital World. This monster would not be so easy to convince, however.

_"I give you this power, make you one of my own students… give you such a chance to eliminate the Digidestined… and you blow it like this?"_ The shadows around Aws shivered and reared, threatening to overtake him. Aws flinched, but didn't falter – however, he couldn't hide the cold sweat that rushed through his skin, and the shivers it brought with it.

"I… I'm afraid that I don't understand, Master," Aws said, as politely as possible, trying to mask his discomfort. "Why must we defeat the Digidestined? Isn't our initiative strong enough on its own?"

The shadows growled at him – a terrifying growl that sent chills down Aws's spine unlike anything he'd ever felt before. _"You do not understand… we can take down this world so easily… but the Digidestined are the ones who will fight to stop us. Eliminating them quickly will spare us resistance in the future. If they are allowed to become stronger, there is a chance that they can defeat us…"_

"But it was only one," Aws assured his Master. "I only saw the one human-digimon pair. She didn't even know how to use her DigiPower yet."

_"She used it well enough to defeat Allomon,"_ the shadowy Master snarled. _"And she will grow stronger. And there will be more Digidestined who will come and bond with digimon and grow stronger… if they are not defeated now, they will not be stopped – do you understand me? You cannot fail."_

"I won't," Aws declared. "I will use all the power that you gave me, Master. I will eliminate this Digidestined before she gets too powerful!"

The shadow Master sighed. _"See that you do, Aws…"_

* * *

"This is about where Allomon's egg was," Flamemon decided. "But…"

"It's not here," Wild finished.

The forest where they had fought Allomon still bore the signs of their fight – crumbled rocks and torn, dying vines lay strewn all over the place. A few trees were knocked down from Allomon's entrance. Huge footprints from his massive feet patterned the ground. But no Digiegg.

"Do you think someone might have taken it?" Wild wondered.

Flamemon shrugged and replied, "Maybe… but I doubt it. Unless… unless that Aws guy came back and stole the egg. Don't know what for, though…"

"Maybe so he can raise another, stronger digimon to try and kill us with?" Wild suggested.

"He doesn't look like the type that would try that," Flamemon sighed.

"Sorry," Wild offered, shrugging. "I still don't know much about how this world works."

"That's all right," Flamemon said, smiling. "You'll learn – I mean, if you plan on sticking around to help."

"I do," Wild promised. "This world's in danger and I get the feeling that it might affect the Human World, too. I don't want that. Besides; just because you're programs doesn't mean that you shouldn't survive… there's a reason you exist, and I'd like you all to continue existing. Not all of you are bad."

"Just like not all humans are bad!"

"Right!"

"Wrong."

Wild frowned. She didn't know that voice. She looked all around and saw no one – but when she looked up, she saw someone robed in a black cloak. Black-and-purple data clouds surrounded him, and what was visible of his face was curled into a vile sneer.

"Humans are terrible beings; didn't you know that?" he laughed maliciously. "We're always causing trouble."

"_You!"_ Flamemon snarled, his tail blazing with fire. He stepped before Wild and shouted, "What the hell do you want? Where's Allomon's egg?"

"What, no formal introductions?" he asked, chuckling. "I don't believe you and I have been acquainted, have we, Tatsuya?"

Wild frowned and said, "But you seem to know my name, though I don't know yours. Who are you, and why are you terrorizing the Digital World?"

He laughed and wagged a finger at her. "Now," he said, grinning, "if I were to tell you that all right now, it wouldn't do you any good… since you're going to be toast soon anyway. But I will tell you my name, like I told your flaming little friend there – I'm called Aws."

"What the hell kind of name is Aws?" Wild demanded.

"That's no business of yours," Aws growled. "But you know what? I don't really have time to chat… so I'll leave you will my associate. Dinohyumon!"

"Shit, not again!" Wild swore, under her breath. "If you're going to float up there and be all condescending, why don't you at least tell us something fucking _useful!"_

Aws looked down at her – at least, she thought he did – and laughed, "That's not part of my job description – my job is to get rid of you Digidestined before you start cropping up all over the place and wrecking our whole operation. Now, shut up and die!"

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The cloud of black-and-purple data streamed around him and disappeared, taking him with it. Wild glared up at where Aws had been standing, frustrated. So this was the man that Flamemon had been talking about! What an asshole.

Flamemon stepped back next to her, and Wild asked, "So… what's a Dinohyumon? Bad news or good news?"

"Bad news," Flamemon growled. "Like Allomon, only smarter and faster…"

"So it's another really strong Champion digimon," Wild discerned. "Great. How can we defeat it? I don't know how much I can do with my DigiPower…"

"Well, we don't have a lot of time to figure it out," Flamemon told her. He pointed to the gap in the trees. "Look."

Wild did. There stood a fearsome digimon – not as tall as Kidd, but just as muscular. He was reptilian, like a dinosaur on its hind legs and given human shape. He wore purple pants with a yellow belt and sash, along with belts and a necklace of blue teeth from an unknown digimon. Blades were attached to bracers around his wrists. He held a cleaver in one hand, with a massive sword that looked something like a fancy kitchen knife blown up to extreme proportions. All of it was very, very sharp.

"Ouch," Wild couldn't help but comment. She clenched her fists, feeling the flame inside her heart burn. Her DigiPower appeared around her hands, blazing like the Spirit of Flame that the Boss said was inside of her. "But we can do this."

"Yeah," Flamemon said, smiling. "That's the Wild I know! Let's fight!"


	6. Episode 6

**Sorry if the pacing's a bother; all these chapters were written way before publishing, and I actually find the pacing of it to be fine... Plus, I can't be bothered to change things now.**

**Episode 6: Wild's Ignition – Blaze, Agunimon! Warrior Spirit of Flame!**

Nikolai watched the girl leave the cafeteria, an odd feeling prickling the hair on the back of his neck. He had only been in this country for four months, barely long enough to pick up on the fast-paced world of Japanese culture and education. His rudimentary knowledge of the language had quickly become more than adequate for holding down a conversation. He had been spending so much time learning the ways of this place that meeting new people had not been high on his list of priorities. In fact, it was rather low. He had managed to make a few acquaintances, but he was wary of getting too close to all these people.

This girl, however, had looked rather sick. She was nothing special, really – quite an average-looking young woman, most likely either a year older or younger than Nikolai. He knew that she was of his year, since he had seen her before – however, he hadn't seen her from quite this close.

She was a little taller than average, with a stocky, strong build. It didn't look as if she worked out any, yet she seemed fit. She wore the school's uniform – a white dress shirt and a navy-blue skirt, with dark knee socks and dress shoes. The only personal touch to her uniform was the red ascot that she wore around her neck – at least, he thought it was an ascot. Perhaps it wasn't called that here? Her hair was plainly done and a light brown – much lighter than his own – reaching to her shoulders. Her face, as stated before, was quite average; her hazel eyes being the only real defining feature of it.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder if she was all right. She had looked as if she'd seen a ghost – that and he thought she was going to throw up into the very trash can that she had been leaning on. It would have been very unfortunate, but it wouldn't be as if Nikolai hadn't seen that sort of thing before.

Nikolai adjusted his dress shirt and wondered if she was going home. He wondered why he even cared – she was someone he didn't know, someone he found that he wasn't even remotely attracted to in any way, despite considering himself a straight man. There was just something about her that itched at his memory: he felt like he should know her, or someone related to her, but he had no clue of any of it at all. It was a blank space, filled with white fog.

He shook his head to clear it of thoughts. _Well, I'm done eating,_ he thought. _Might as well wander about._ The school allowed its students to wander the halls at will during their lunch period, with the only stipulation being that they couldn't leave the campus. Those that were old enough to drive were allowed to leave for lunch if they obtained a special pass, but they had to be back to the school at a certain time. Nikolai had no license, nor did he have a car; so that was none of his concern.

Nikolai walked out of the raucous cafeteria and into the quieter hallway. It was cooler out here, with fewer bodies clustering about and radiating heat. It made the school uniform a little more comfortable. Nikolai was still not used to having to wear a uniform, since all the other schools that he had attended had not required such a thing. Still, it was better than not having any sort of education at all… and if Nikolai intended to somehow rake a future for himself in this country, he would need all the learning that he could get.

He put his hands into his pockets and began walking down the hall. The school was structured in a fairly simple circular pattern, with the cafeteria being the middle. There was an upstairs to the school, which held the gymnasium and auditorium, along with most of the non-required classes, like languages and fine arts. They kept most of the technology on the first floor, with only a small computer lab upstairs just in case a class required it for something. He didn't know the school up and down quite yet, but he was getting the hang of everything.

Looking up, something caught his eye. He stopped walking and ducked into a nearby hallway, his heart pounding for some reason. He peeked out into the main hallway and frowned, confused.

The girl from before was standing outside of the computer lab, looking into it. Her face was what looked like a mixture of surprise, relief, and wariness. Why would she look like that? It was just a computer lab – a lot of kids used it during lunch period to catch up on their missed work.

"No way," she whispered. Nikolai could hardly hear her voice. She looked around, as if to see if there was anyone watching, and stepped into the computer lab. Nikolai, feeling a strange uneasiness settle in his stomach, stepped out from his hiding place just in time to see her disappear into the room.

_What is she doing? I thought she was sick?_ He thought. He didn't intend to get into her business at all, but he was curious. He knew that she took an interest in computers; or, at least, the programming of computers. She was the best programmer in the school, from what he'd heard – but her name escaped him. He didn't share the programming class with her, but he'd heard others whispering about her talents. So there was really nothing wrong with her going into the computer lab, right?

Right?

Nikolai frowned. There was a reason he was feeling so uneasy – he had learned to trust his gut instinct. There was something not right about this, and he intended to figure out what. He walked down the hall and looked into the computer lab, unsure of what he would see or what he would say if he were discovered to be spying on the school's best programmer-slash-computer-person.

"What the – how is this possible?" he gasped.

The girl was gone. There was no one in the computer lab, and yet Nikolai had watched her walk into the room. How could she not be there? There were no other exits from the room. He looked down the hall both ways – no sign of her.

He stepped into the room, feeling the coolness of the air conditioner coming from the ceiling. All the computer's monitors were turned off. All of them but one – the one right before him, visible from the hallway. It read, in white text on a black screen:

_JUST PRESS ENTER!_

A strange feeling coursed through Nikolai's body. He didn't know much about computers – but he knew enough to know that they weren't supposed to say that: you know, unless someone wrote a silly program to make it do that. He had no idea what in the world could cause something like this to pop up on a computer. Was it a virus? Malware? Did the schools technicians know about this? And where the hell did that ascot-wearing programmer go?

Something inside of Nikolai begged for him to press the Enter key. His common sense told him not to, lest he further damage the computer. But the girl didn't disappear for no reason – was this the reason she had been so aghast earlier? If she was gone and he was the only one to see her leave, he had an obligation to find her.

_Wherever you went, it has something to do with this computer,_ he decided. Defying all his senses, Nikolai reached forward and pressed the Enter key.

* * *

_"Lizard Dance!"_ Dinohyumon shouted. He didn't seem to have any problem with beginnng the fight. Malice blazed in his eyes as he brandished his swords – all but the one on his back – and charged towards Wild and Flamemon.

Flamemon stepped before Wild and shouted, _"Baby Salamander!"_ A jet of flame poured from his mouth, moving straight for Dinohyumon. The lizard man digimon snorted and leaped, spinning in the air. He landed past Flamemon's flames and slashed, knocking the smaller digimon away.

"Flamemon!" Wild shouted, worry piercing her blazing heart. Flamemon's descent was stopped by a tree, and he slumped to the ground. After a moment, though, he pushed himself up. He looked exhausted, but he gave Wild a thumbs-up.

Wild turned to face Dinohyumon, finding that he had turned his attention to her. He raised his blade, sunlight catching on the sharp object. Wild tensed her muscles, prepared to dodge to one side or the other – but something within her stopped her from attempting it. She couldn't run – she _wouldn't_ run. With a glance into Dinohyumon's eyes, she realized that this was not the normal way that this digimon behaved, and that something was indeed making it act this way. She was in no way going to let it suffer any longer.

With a hand blazing with DigiPower, she took a quick step sideways and touched the trunk of a tree. The tree glowed with a white light before it's top began to shake and rumble. Vines cascaded down from the tree and grasped Dinohyumon's blade, holding both the blade and his arm in place. Dinohyumon let out a surprised grunt, glaring at what was binding him.

Wild took her hand off of the tree and frowned. _What can we possibly do to tame this digimon's wild mind?_ She thought. _My power is Creation, according to what the Boss and the Princess said. I don't think I can help. The best we can do is put him out of his misery..._

Something seemed almost cruel about that, though – Wild knew that Dinohyumon wasn't doing this of his own accord, and that it was something that Aws had done; but they had to do something before they were killed.

Dinohyumon strained against the vines holding him. The blades on his arms were slicing through the thick plant matter, and he raised his other arm to begin hacking away at it. Wild darted away, running towards Flamemon. She reached his side just as Dinohyumon released himself from his bonds.

"Flamemon, are you all right?" she asked quickly, quietly.

Flamemon gave her a curt nod before grunting, "Just a little winded, Wild... nothing too serious... You?"

"A little shaken," Wild admitted. The adrenaline pumping through her system was preventing her from being frightened about the situation. She got the feeling that, as soon as it was all over, she would probably collapse. "I'll be fine... but I don't think I can use this DigiPower to hurt digimon – even if I can, I don't want to."

"Then leave it to me," Flamemon decided. "I can do this... I just need to regain my... strength. He hits pretty hard..."

Dinohyumon turned his attention to them, scraps of vine falling off his arms. He let out a low growl and reached up for the sword resting in the sheathe on his back. A shiver coursed through Wild's body – that blade was huge... and the damage it would cause would be no doubt devastating to a digimon like Flamemon.

Flamemon stood up to his full height, wobbling a bit. He straightened his tail and regained the majority of his balance, but upon inspection Wild realized that Dinohyumon had hit Flamemon much harder than she had first thought – he seemed to be bleeding. Flamemon noticed her looking and quickly covered the wound up with one of his hands.

"Don't worry about me, Wild," Flamemon told her sternly. "My job is to protect you. That's what a digimon does for their human partner. We protect them."

"Flamemon," Wild breathed. "Don't..."

Flamemon opened his mouth and roared at Dinohyumon. Dinohyumon returned the roar, opening his mouth wide to reveal all his teeth. His roar was much stronger than Flamemon's. Flamemon pulled away from Wild and charged at Dinohyumon.

_"Rolling Salamander!"_ he roared with all his might. His mane and tail blazed with flame and he jumped, tucked, and rolled into Dinohyumon. Wild reached out to stop him, but her hand was nearly scorched by his flames.

"_Akinakes!"_ Dinohyumon declared, unsheathing the massive blade on his back. It gleamed in the Dark Area's weak sunlight as he brought it down upon Flamemon.

_"No!"_ Wild shouted. Her eyes watered. She knew that Flamemon would not survive such an attack, and that he was doing it in order for her to have a chance to flee. If they failed here, then Aws and his "operation" would be able to go on. She couldn't allow that! She couldn't! Not at the cost of Flamemon's life!

Her DigiPower engulfed her body, blazing white and red. She could feel the flames rise from within – the Spirit of Fire that the Boss had spoken of before. She could feel it within herself and she could see it within Flamemon, too – they shared the same Spirit, and therefore they were partners.

_"Ignite – Spirit Evolution!"_ Wild shouted, her voice wreathed in flame.

As Dinohyumon's blade struck Flamemon, a blinding red light exploded outward, blinding Wild and bringing waves upon waves of heat with it. Wild, however, didn't feel the heat – how could she? She bore the Spirit of Flame! And so did Flamemon!

If Aws wanted a show, he was going to get it!

* * *

"Princess?" the Boss wondered. "What's the matter?"

Loaño stood looking out the great bay window inside the Boss's solar. Her face was not troubled, but there was something there – some great knowledge. The Boss looked in the direction of where she was gazing, finding that the Forest Zone seemed to be glowing red.

"She woke it up," the Princess told him quietly. A small smile crept onto her face. "She woke up the Spirit of Flame..."

"She... _woke_ it?" the Boss repeated hesitantly. "Whatever does that mean? Does she need help?"

"No," the Princess said, shaking her head. "She doesn't need help. They can do this. But..."

"But what?"

"We are needed elsewhere," she said, glancing at the Boss. "So... I'm afraid that I'm going to have to break your order for me to stay here... Kidd and I need to go help someone before they get themselves hurt."

"Who are you going to help?" the Boss wondered.

"Another piece of the puzzle..."

* * *

_"Flamemon Spirit Evolve to... Agunimon!"_

The roar of his voice echoed throughout Wild's head. It was her voice and his, melded into one – and yet it was the voice of a new being, one with fire on his tongue and the power to control it. She could feel the connection between her and her partner now, moreso than before – it was more complicated than a simple friendship; they were _connected_ by the Spirit that resided within them both. For a split second, all of her partner's feelings were her own, and all of her feelings were her partner's. She could feel the DigiPower blazing inside of her, growing stronger than before, though she didn't know how to control it.

When she opened her eyes, the being that stood before Dinohyumon was no longer Flamemon. He had caught the massive sword in one of his hands, holding it at bay easily.

"A... Agunimon..." Wild whispered, awed by her partner's transformation.

The little imp that Flamemon had been he was no longer. Now, he was taller than Wild; taller than Dinohyumon. A human male clad in red armor trimmed with gold and painted with white markings, with coal-black underarmor. A thick mane of yellow hair came from his head, reaching to his back before becoming flames. He wore a mask that was as red as his armor, with three horns. Within the eye holes were blazing blue eyes. His feet were heavily armored and styled after a dragon. The backs of his hands bore small silver plates that seemed to create their own flame.

He looked back to Wild and smiled, his teeth pointed. Then, he looked back to Dinohyumon and pushed the blade away. Dinohyumon leaped back and readied his great blade again, prepared to strike once more. Agunimon slid into position, his fists blazing with flame.

_"Akinakes!"_ Dinohyumon shouted.

_"Burning Salamander!"_ Agunimon returned.

Dinohyumon rushed and raised his blade again. He slashed, but Agunimon did a backflip to dodge, causing the blade to embed itself into the ground. Agunimon raised his gauntlets and flames blazed forth, taking the shapes of dragons. They flew at Dinohyumon like missiles, roaring with their own flaming sounds.

The enemy digimon drew his blade from the ground and slashed, cutting the flames into pieces. Agunimon frowned and snapped again, _"Burning Salamander!"_

More dragons rushed at Dinohyumon, this time from different angles. Using all his blades, Dinohyumon cleaved the flames into bits, causing the attack to be ineffective. Dinohyumon crouched and rushed at Agunimon again, his massive blade ready to strike.

Agunimon side stepped and avoided the attack by a hair's breadth. He punched Dinohyumon in the face with a flaming fist, roaring as he did so. His roar sounded both draconic and human, giving Wild chills as she heard it. Dinohyumon turned and tried to slice Agunimon into ribbons with the blades attached to his arms, but Agunimon raised his armored arms to block the attacks.

Dinohyumon's attacks were relentless and fast, expertly placed to try and unbalance Agunimon. The newly-digivolved digimon, however, seemed to be a much better fighter than his previous form, capable of dodging and blocking his enemy's attacks. The strikes were going so fast that Wild could barely keep up with her own eyes.

Agunimon found an opening in Dinohyumon's attacks and struck the enemy digimon so hard that he dropped his massive sword. Another strike and Dinohyumon was dazed. Wild sensed that Agunimon was going in for the finishing blow – she wished that there was a way to snap the other digimon out of his malicious state, but she knew that there wasn't.

_"Salamander Break!"_ Agunimon roared. Falmes blazed around Agunimon's body as he spun, creating a flaming tornado. It ended with a roundhouse kick that hit Dinohyumon so hard it broke the other digimon into bits of data and reverted him to a green Digiegg with white stripes. Agunimon ended his attack and picked up the Digiegg, looking to Wild.

Wild nodded and decided, "We're not letting Aws take this one."

Agunimon smiled and walked over to her. He bent down and gave the Digiegg to her. She held it with both hands, nowhere near as strong as Agunimon. She looked up at him, mystified by his transformation and the power and skill that he had exhibited.

"So... how long are you going to stay like that?" she wondered.

"Not for much longer," Agunimon promised. "But... I think I'll stay this way until we make it back to the castle. Don't want any more unwelcome surprises, right?"

"Yeah," Wild agreed, nodding. "So... that's what digivolving is?"

"Well, like the Boss said – it's a bit different for me than it is for other digimon," Agunimon reminded her. "But, yeah; I guess this is what it's like to digivolve..."

"You've never digivolved before?"

"I've never met the right partner before," Agunimon told her, smirking. "It doesn't work unless you have the right partner."

Wild chuckled. Then, she rapped her fist against Agunimon's side. She growled, "Don't _ever_ do that sort of stupid suicidal shit again, OK? You scared me to death!"

Agunimon laughed and rubbed his side, offering, "Sure, Wild... never again..."

"Let's take this back to the castle, then," Wild decided. "Since we can't find Allomon's egg, this one will just have to do."

Agunimon nodded and stepped to her side. Together, the two began walking back into the forest, towards the castle, leaving the ruined battleground behind them.

* * *

Aws clenched his fists together so tightly that he thought his skin would break. He failed, again! The Master would _not_ approve of such failure a second time! Black-and-purple DigiPower swirled around him, blazing like the flames of his anger. He swore under his breath.

_At least I recovered Allomon's egg,_ he thought, _just in case we need to use him again. We can always force the digivolution. The only other thing I suppose that I could offer the Master to cover up for this failure is what I saw when that stupid Flamemon digivolved..._

_Hopefully that will be enough to save my hide..._

* * *

Nikolai opened his eyes to find himself lying on his back on a hard surface. He groaned and wondered what the hell had happened – one moment, he was looking at a computer screen. Now, here he lay on his back looking at the light blue sky, dotted with wispy clouds. Faint, chilly wind stirred his hair and covered his skin in goosebumps.

He sat up and took a deep breath, trying to get his bearings. He looked at the ground he was lying on and found that it was made of stone. Little rocks and pebbles dotted the surface. He looked to one side and found that there was a sheer rock wall. He looked around at the other sides and gasped.

It was a cliff. He was stuck on a cliff, barely longer than he was and only a few feet wider.

He backed up against the cliff face and swore, "Holy shit!"


	7. Episode 7

**Episode 7: Stuck In the Mountain Zone**

Nikolai tried to keep himself calm. How he had gotten here didn't matter anymore; what mattered was how he was going to get himself _out _of here. He hadn't much room to move, and upon looking at the face of the rock behind him, there wasn't much purchase for his hands or feet. He suddenly regretted not taking that rock-climbing class that his mother had suggested he take.

Still, he had to try. He was able to lift his own weight and more fairly easily, thanks to his habit of lifting weights nearly every morning and afternoon. He'd wanted to join sports when he'd come to school in Japan, but he wasn't allowed – his eyesight was poor, and he used to wear glasses. Now he had converted to contacts, but it still rendered him a liability on any field. Weightlifting just seemed like a more logical option.

He pawed at the rock gently, unsure if it would crumble beneath his hands. It didn't – it was fairly sturdy, actually. He tried to get a grip, but the face was almost completely smooth. He'd have to grow wings to find a way out of this place.

_I can't stay on this rock forever,_ he reflected. _I need to get off and figure out where I am..._ Jumping down wasn't an option – the ground was hundreds of feet down, not to mention it looked like it was some sort of forest. Even if the trees managed to catch him, the force of the impact would break bones.

Nikolai pounded a fist against the side of the cliff and swore. How was he supposed to get out of this mess now? He looked up and saw, ironically enough, that the cliff's edge was not much further up than the reach of his arm.

_I can jump,_ he thought, _but I don't know about the integrity of what I'm standing on._ If he landed hard enough, he didn't know if what rock he was standing on would crumble beneath his feet. If it fell out from beneath him, then he's have nothing to stand on. However, jumping up seemed to be the only option that he had right now.

Nikolai gave a little hop. The cliff held him without crumbling. He hopped again, reaching for the cliff's edge this time. He missed, his fingers grazing the rock. Swearing, Nikolai put all the strength he had behind his jump. A sense of triumph coursed through him as his hand and the surface of the cliff connected. He immediately placed his other hand on top as well, planting one foot against the side of the cliff.

Taking a deep breath, Nikolai pushed up with that one foot and nearly slipped. He banged his knee against the wall and he swore very loudly. Still, though, he tried again. He planted both feet on the wall and pulled with his arms, throwing an elbow over the edge of the cliff. He pushed harder with his feet and was able to get another elbow over. He forced his head to look over the edge, where he caught sight of a scraggly little bush within arm's reach. He reached for that and grasped a clump of branches. He gave it a tug, finding that its roots held.

He used the bush to help him out the rest of the way, pulling himself onto the cliff's surface. He lay there on his stomach, panting, trying to catching his breath. The skin of his hands and knees felt raw and ripped, but he was grateful to be off of that cliff. Now he could figure out where he was!

Nikolai pushed himself up, arms shaking, to look around. He seemed to have pulled himself up onto some sort of mountain trail. The mountain was much taller than he could have imagined, the trail spiraling up and up and up until its peak. Caves, hardy trees, and scraggly bushes dotted the mountainside. Looking behind him, he found blue skies and a vast forest. The sunlight was strong, but not too hot; very balmy. Looking beyond the mountain he was sitting on, he found more mountains, all of varying sizes and shapes. A few had flat tops, like a plateau.

"Whoa..." Nikolai breathed. _I am not in Japan anymore... in fact, I don't think I'm on Earth anymore..._ It was a far-fetched idea, but very possible upon having looked at the terrain. Nowhere he knew of had mountains that looked like this, nor forests. _So, if I'm not on Earth, where am I?_

Nikolai stood and brushed his clothes off. He reached into his pocket and found his cell phone. Perhaps the phone's GPS interface could be of use? He tapped the screen on his phone only to find that it displayed a blank screen, as if the phone had been reset. It displayed nothing but a background full of what appeared to be data. He shook the phone and swore again, cursing. He'd heard of no service before, but nothing like this.

For the first time in what felt like forever Nikolai thought of the girl who'd disappeared in the computer lab before he had entered. Was she here, too? If so, where? Maybe they could get back together... or maybe she knew the way back? Had she been here before?

_I suppose that I should try looking,_ he thought. _But this place looks so... vast. So big. Like it's an Earth in itself. How am I supposed to find one person here? Maybe there's someone else I can talk to here..._

He sighed and started down the trail. Though he had never taken those rock-climbing courses, he knew a thing or two about hiking. His mother was fond of nature trails and they would often go hiking in the mountains, or go camping. She claimed that it was peaceful. If he worked his way down he should be able to reach some sort of station, or...

"What the hell are those?" Nikolai gasped.

They looked like birds, but they were bigger than any bird that Nikolai had ever seen. Much bigger – both stood up to Nikolai's midsection. One was pink, very feminine-looking, with yellow legs and a purple-striped crest atop her head. A silver ring was attached to her left foot, and three red claws were at the end of each wing. She looked up at Nikolai with wide, pretty, blue eyes.

The other was red with a white head, kind of like a bald eagle. Like the pink bird, he had blue eyes and yellow feet. His wings were longer and broader, with black claws instead of red. He wore a black belt around his head, with a red-and-yellow feather attached to the back. Red markings zig-zagged beneath his eyes.

"Oh, no!" the red bird gasped. "Biyomon, look – could it be?"

The pink bird – Nikolai assumed that her name was Biyomon – blinked at Nikolai. She put a wing to her beak and breathed, "It could be, Hawkmon... and if it is..."

"We'll just have to be sure!" Hawkmon decided, his blue eyes looking determined.

"Right!" Biyomon agreed. "Hurry – before he gets away again!"

_Wait, gets away again...?_ Nikolai thought. "Hold on here, I just -"

"Hold your tongue!" Hawkmon snapped. "Biyomon, hurry!"

"_Spiral Twister!"_ Biyomon shouted. She opened her beak and a thin, spiraling tongue of green flame poured out, reaching out to Nikolai.

Nikolai let out a surprised shout and ducked, the flames just missing his hair. Biyomon shouted, "Hawkmon – get him!"

"Right! _Feather Strike!"_

Nikolai stood up just in time to catch the feather off of Hawkmon's belt with his stomach. How a feather could be so hard and heavy, Nikolai had no idea – but he landed on his back, breathless. Biyomon, with a few flaps, landed on top of him, pressing down with all her weight. Hawkmon flew to her side, and they both glared down at him.

"We've got him, Biyomon!" Hawkmon declared. "We've got the one who's been terrorizing the Digital World!"

"Wait, what?" Nikolai gasped. "I don't understand what's -"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, as Biyomon placed one of her feet over his mouth. Choking on bird foot, Nikolai was left to struggle and try in vain to think of what was going on or where the hell this Digital World was in relation to Japan.

"Let's get him to Strabimon," Hawkmon decided, "so he can pay for his crimes!"

_My crimes…_ he thought frantically. _What have I done?_

* * *

He was dragged up the mountain for about three miles. The walk was quiet, but for the occasional jibe from Biyomon or Hawkmon. Nikolai ground his teeth and bore through it, though, realizing that these little creatures were much more powerful than he was. They had power that he couldn't comprehend. His only hope would be that he could reason with this Strabimon, if he were capable of reasoning, that is. The birds had found some sort of rough vine and tied his hands behind his back, making walking rather difficult.

Nikolai was practically breathless by the time Biyomon and Hawkmon ordered him to stop walking. He looked ahead and found that they were slightly off the trail, facing a small outcropping of rock. A lean, thin shape stood there, more humanoid than the birds. Hawkmon parted from Nikolai and Biyomon to approach this being.

"Strabimon, we've found him," Hawkmon announced. "The one who's been destroying the Mountain Zone."

_This is Strabimon?_ Nikolai thought. _He doesn't look like much…_

Strabimon stepped into view, and Nikolai took back his thought. Strabimon was almost as tall as Nikolai himself, if not a head and a half shorter. He was a beast-like creature, with a wolf-like face covered in periwinkle-colored fur. His red eyes bore into Nikolai, sending a shiver down the human's spine. Strabimon wore white clothing with black belts looped about his limbs and torso every which way, making him look dangerous. A black scarf was tied around his neck, the tails of the scarf trailing on the ground. His feet were covered with white armor with three blue claws coming out. His hands bore gloves armed with long knives at the ends of each finger.

"So, you're _Zen,_ are you?" Strabimon drawled. His voice was wild and intelligent at the same time, and hearing it stirred something within Nikolai. As he looked into this digimon's eyes, he could see a light that he had never seen in himself… and yet it seemed to be Nikolai's own reflection.

"No," Nikolai replied. "My name is Nikolai Miles. I come from the United Kingdom, but my Mum and I moved to Japan about four months ago. This is my first time here… I don't even know where _here_ is! I got stuck on a rock on this mountain and as soon as I got myself off of it these two caught me and brought me to you."

Strabimon frowned. He crossed his arms, tapping one long nail against the mix of clothing and armor on his arm.

"I don't know anyone named Zen… and I am certainly not this person!" Nikolai insisted.

Hawkmon and Biymon blinked at one another, and then they looked at Strabimon, as if awaiting his decision. Strabimon narrowed his red eyes and flattened his ears. He stepped closer to Nikolai and bent near, his nose twitching.

After a moment, Strabimon straightened. "You are not Zen," he concluded. "But I don't trust you. You're a human, and the only human that we have seen so far has _not_ made a good impression." He curled his lip, baring sharp teeth. "I know not whether you are one of them or if you are as innocent as you claim… and no digimon within this Zone will trust you if they were to see you."

"We could take him to the Princess," Biyomon suggested calmly. "I mean… she would be able to tell whether or not he was telling the truth."

_Princess?_ Nikolai thought. _They have a Princess?_

Strabimon looked at Biyomon, regarding her with an even, cool tone in his piercing red eyes. "We could," he mused, "I will consider that option… but first things first – we cannot leave this Zone. The Dark Area is a long journey and I don't trust this human to follow us. I think I have a way of mine own to discern whether this human is unrelated to Zen and his cohort's activities or not."

"But the Princess still needs to be informed," Hawkmon pointed out, "if she doesn't know of our plight already."

Strabimon flicked his ear. "We will decide this after," he told them. "I am sure that the Princess knows of our Zone's troubles… and the troubles of the other Zones. We cannot allow this Zen and his companions to destroy the Digital World. I will not allow it!"

Hawkmon and Biyomon looked at each other with smiles on their beaks. Nikolai frowned, still trying to process all of this. He was being given no explanation and he expected none – he would have to infer the details on his own. Apparently this Zen person was a human and destroying the mountain and somehow trying to destroy the entire world these creatures – digimon? – lived in.

"Untie him," Strabimon decided, pointing with a sharp nail. "He won't trouble us, will he?"

"No," Nikolai answered. He could sense the threat. Strabimon was dedicated to protecting this Mountain Zone, and if Nikolai were a threat he would be dispatched. Nikolai understood that – and he wanted to ensure that Strabimon knew he wasn't a threat.

Biyomon stepped behind him and with a flick of one of her claws the ropes were laying on the rocky ground behind Nikolai. He flexed his wrists and rubbed where the dry plant matter had chafed.

"Come," Strabimon ordered. He turned and began to work his way further up the mountain. His movements were expert and swift, as if he had lived here all his life and knew every dusty rock, scraggly tree, and dried-up bush. Biyomon and Hawkmon flanked Nikolai as the young man began to follow.

He didn't know what he was going to see, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be pretty.

* * *

Wild and Agunimon arrived at the castle, Dinohyumon's Digiegg in tow, just in time for Agunimon's strength to fail. Wild turned and watched as Agunimon began to glow red and shrink. When the glow disappeared, he was Flamemon once more.

"Welcome back," Wild joked.

"I never left," Flamemon chuckled back. "My appearance may have changed, but _I_ didn't."

"I know," Wild breathed. "I'm just glad we made it back safely."

"Yeah; I think I scared them all away as Agunimon!" Flamemon bragged, smiling and baring his teeth.

Wild smirked and laughed at that. Her laughter died, however, as a thought occurred to her – she hadn't laughed like that for a long time. If Meg were to hear her just then, she would probably think that Wild got possessed by some demon or something. Wild swallowed the laughter, unsure. She thought of the Human World and some part of her shivered inside.

Flamemon noticed her pause and wondered, "Something wrong, Wild?"

"Nothing," Wild insisted. "Don't worry about it. Let's just go and show the Boss this egg and explain what happened with Aws."

"We won't have to go far," Flamemon pointed out. He pointed with one finger into the courtyard of the castle. The Boss was sitting on the wall of a fountain, seemingly deep in thought. Digimon of all shapes and sizes flitted around and about him, acknowledging his presence with a respectful nod or even a bow. Otherwise, they left him alone.

Wild adjusted her grip on the Digiegg and sighed, saying, "Well, we'd better go tell him, then."

"Yeah," Flamemon agreed. He flicked his tail and commented, "Is it just me, or is there something on his mind?"

"Looks like there is," Wild agreed. "We'll see."

* * *

"Look at the damage that Zen has caused us," Strabimon growled. He gestured before him. "Do you understand now why we are suspicious?"

Nikolai took a step forward, speechless. Before him was supposedly the rest of the mountain's trail… but it wasn't there anymore. A huge chunk of the mountain looked to have been carved out to the mountain's core, almost as if someone had taken a spoon to a mountain of ice cream. The empty space lasted until the base of the mountain, and it even swallowed some of the forest below as well. Bits of black and yellow energy floated up here and there from the edges of the destruction. Seeing it all made Nikolai somewhat sick inside.

He looked to Strabimon, who looked upon the destruction was great emotion in his red eyes. Nikolai sensed that it made him sick, too. Hawkmon and Biyomon sniffled behind him, seeing the ruin and weeping for it.

"These were digimon's homes," Strabimon growled. "They had barely any warning at all… Do you see now why we mistrust you, human? What right does your kind think they have, to destroy digimon's homes and ruin their lives?"

Nikolai breathed, "I have no idea… but Strabimon, it wasn't me…"

"I knew that upon seeing your reaction," the blue digimon admitted. "If you had something to do with this, you most likely would have felt nothing… but do you see? This will happen to the rest of the Digital World if something isn't done. The Mountain Zone is the target now, but what about the other Zones? The forests, the oceans, the canyons, the deserts, the taigas, the volcanoes, the islands, even the clouds will fall to this sort of ruin. I will not allow this Zen to destroy my home!"

"Us, either," Biyomon insisted.

"We're all fighting back!" Hawkmon added.

Nikolai clenched his fist. An anger welled up from deep inside. How could someone destroy something like this so willingly? The creatures… these digimon… they had every right to live here. Nikolai looked to Strabimon and felt something break away inside, something powerful. Strabimon glanced his way, his eyes widening a little.

"I'll help you," Nikolai decided. He raised his fist, and it burst into white flames of data, tinged with blue at the ends of the plumes. "I promise."

"N-Nikolai…" Strabimon breathed. "You…"

"Strabimon!" Hawkmon shouted. "Look!"

Strabimon looked to the sky. He flattened his ears and cursed, _"You!"_

Nikolai looked up to find someone else grinning down at them. It was a human - that Nikolai was sure of. They wore a dark cloak around their body, hiding all their features but the bottom of their face. They stood on a platform made of black-and-yellow data; the color combination was hard to look at for Nikolai. He glimpsed a bit of green, and guessed that it belonged to the person's hair. Seeing this person made Nikolai's blood boil in his veins – he could feel the darkness surrounding them.

"He's back…" Biyomon squeaked, covering her beak in fright.

"_Zen,"_ Strabimon snarled. "You'll pay for what you've done here, Zen!"

Zen gave a chuckle from up above. Strabimon crouched and was prepared to strike, but Nikolai grabbed the digimon by his shoulders, preventing him from launching himself recklessly at Zen. Strabimon struggled and growled, but Nikolai held him.

"Stop!" Nikolai insisted. He leaned in and whispered into Strabimon's ear, "I know that you're upset and you want revenge, but not like this. It's what he wants. Let me see what I can do."

Strabimon stopped struggling, allowing Nikolai to set him down on the ground without worry. Nikolai stepped before Strabimon and opened his mouth to speak.

Zen jumped right down his throat before he could even begin. "Nikolai Miles," Zen giggled. "So, you're one of the fabled Digidestined? I didn't think that I'd be meeting one of you so soon… but since Aws already ran into one of you pesky meddlers I guess it was only a matter of time…"

"Digidestined…?" Nikolai repeated.

"Oh, so you don't even know what a Digidestined is?" Zen laughed. His laughter was quite annoying to Nikolai, but he imagined that it would grate on other people's nerves more than anything. "Wow!"

_He said that someone else was here,_ Nikolai thought. _Another Digidestined… could that have been that girl?_

Zen sighed. "Well, this is getting boring," he decided. "I just wanted to see if the rumors were true, like Aws said… you don't look all that strong. I have other places to be, other things to do. Don't worry, though; I'll be back soon to lay ruin to this Zone!"

"Hey, you bastard – wait!" Nikolai shouted.

Zen laughed before disappearing within a cloud of black-and-yellow data. Nikolai swore some more and looked to Strabimon. "I'm sorry," he offered.

"It's not your fault," Strabimon reasoned.

"He knows you," Biyomon managed.

"But I don't know him," Nikolai growled. "I know that I don't like him, though. Strabimon, what do we do now?"

"We can't follow him," Strabimon sighed. "But we'll have to watch out for his next appearance. I suppose that we can take you to see the Princess."

"Whatever will help you," Nikolai reasoned. "I'll do it."

Strabimon gave him an even look. "He called you Digidestined," he realized quietly. "It has been a very long time since there has been Digidestined…"

"What are the Digidestined?" Nikolai wondered.

"Humans!" Hawkmon piped in. "Humans chosen by fate to enter the Digital World to save it and the Human World from peril alongside a partner digimon."

Nikolai looked back at Hawkmon and asked, "Really? That's happened before?"

"Yes," Strabimon answered. "But we should go, before he returns."

"Uhh… Strabimon…?" Biyomon piped in. "That might be a bit harder than you think…"

Strabimon and Nikolai turned around to find the trail down the mountain blocked by a massive pile of stone. The stone was huge, bigger than anything Nikolai had seen yet in the Digital World. Metal plates covered its head and smoke stacks came out of its back and head. It glared down at the group with red eyes flaming with a madness that made Nikolai's heart pound to see.

"What is that?" Nikolai wondered. "And when did it get behind us?"

"My guess is that it's a little gift from our friend Zen," Strabimon snarled, flexing his fingers.

"That's a Golemon!" Hawkmon discerned. "Oh my Yggdrasil!"

"It's in our way," Biyomon squeaked.

"Its heart it shrouded in shadows," Nikolai realized. "We have to help it somehow!" He looked to Strabimon and asked, "Can't you feel it?"

Strabimon frowned and replied, "Yes, I can. You're right; first we help Golemon… then we take you to the Princess." He looked ahead and shouted, "Biyomon! Hawkmon! Are you fighting or fleeing?"

"Fighting!" Biyomon insisted.

"Most definitely fighting!" Hawkmon agreed. "We won't leave you to face a Champion digimon alone, Strabimon."

"Alright," Strabimon decided. "Let's do this."

Nikolai planted his feet and raised his fists, unsure of what good he could do against such a massive monster – yet there was something within that said he could help. He _wanted_ to help. He wanted to go home, but he didn't want to leave these digimon to a dying world.

He didn't know what he got himself into, but he was planning on fighting his way out.


	8. Episode 8

**Episode 8: Awaken – the Spirit of Light!**

"Thank you," the Boss decided, holding Dinohyumon's egg between his hands. "This will do, since you were incapable of retrieving Allomon's egg." He set the egg in his lap and snapped his fingers. The Digiegg disappeared in a little flash of light that burned a spot into Wild's eyes. "It'll be safe from harm with me – I'll have a look at it later."

He took his cane into his hand and stood, leaning on it. The fountain splashed behind him elegantly, drawing Wild's attention for a millisecond before she averted her eyes from it. The Boss placed both hands at the top of his cane and went on, "So you say that you were able to digivolve?"

"Yes," Wild replied. "I was able to change Flamemon into Agunimon."

The Boss looked over them both, something like approval flashing in his eyes. Wild sensed that he was frustrated about something, but the Boss gave nothing away. Wild knew hardly anything about this digimon – she was reluctant to press him.

Finally, he offered, "The Princess sensed the activation of your Spirit."

"She did?" Flamemon wondered. "I didn't know she could do that!"

"The Princess's senses are quite… acute," the Boss replied carefully.

"So… where is she?" Wild wondered. "Do you have her locked away in a tower or something?"

The Boss raised an eyebrow – at least, Wild assumed he did. It was hard to tell those sorts of details when he was wearing that mask. "No, no, nothing so cliché…" he replied. "Actually, the Princess has decided to disobey my suggestion for her to stay. She and KiddGarurumon took off for the Light Area not long before you arrived."

"What?" Wild and Flamemon responded at once. They looked at one another, and then Wild turned to the Boss and asked, "Isn't that dangerous for her?"

"You try telling Loaño what she can and cannot do," the Boss suggested. "I'd like to see if you make it out without a scratch. She said that there was something she needed to do; something about another piece of the puzzle. Then she and KiddGarurumon headed off."

"Where did she go?" Flamemon wondered. "It's dangerous out there, even for KiddGarurumon! We can go and find her!"

"If it's dangerous for KiddGarurumon, I doubt it would be any less dangerous for you," the Boss replied plainly. "He is, after all, stronger than you. I would suppose, however, that they went to the Mountain Zone."

"The Mountain Zone? But that's a long ways away from here!" Flamemon gasped. "Why would they go there?"

The Boss frowned. Then, he answered, "The Mountain Zone is being torn apart by some unknown force. I can only assume that it has something to do with this Aws person and his group. But digimon's habitats and homes are being destroyed. I was such a fool not to listen to her… to think that he was wrong!"

"To think that _who_ was wrong?" Wild asked, curious.

"No one," the Boss insisted immediately. He tapped his cane and said, "If you wish to journey after her, Wild, please… make some use of yourself. Your DigiPower is capable of summoning trees and vines, yes… but that's not all. You can manipulate the very framework of the Digital World. Your DigiPower should be able to repair the damage caused to the Mountain Zone."

"I… I can do that?" Wild wondered.

"I can only assume," the Boss stated. "Now, hurry – before that Princess gets herself into some sort of trouble!"

Wild smirked. She pointed out, "You act like she's some sort of pain or burden to you… but you do care about her, don't you?"

"I said _go,"_ the Boss growled, rapping his cane against the courtyard ground.

* * *

_"Spiral Twister!"_

_"Feather Strike!"_

Green flame and sharp feathers cascaded down upon Golemon from the air as Hawkmon and Biyomon swooped and flapped about him, trying to land an attack on his rocky hide. Both attacks fizzled away into nothing as they struck. Still, the birds tried again and again, making a valiant effort.

Strabimon dashed between Golemon's legs at an incomprehensible speed, striking weak points within the rocks that composed the enemy digimon's body. Golemon, however, seemed unaffected by this.

Nikolai found himself at a disadvantage in this battle. There really wasn't much he could do – he didn't possess power like the digimon did. He couldn't fight them like they could. He had picked up a handful of rocks and began to fling them at Golemon's head, hoping to distract the digimon from striking back at the other three who were trying to hinder him. Only one or two rocks hit their intended target, but Nikolai was not discouraged – he picked up more and threw them.

_"Licht Nagel!"_ Strabimon shouted. His nails grew long and glowed white as he struck Golemon, leaving white scratches all over the rocks. Golemon rumbled and looked down. Strabimon darted swiftly out of the way as Golemon raised one of his massive fists and brought it down where the speedy digimon had just been.

_"Feather Strike!"_ Hawkmon called. Biyomon's attack came just afterward, and the two struck Golemon at once, causing his attention to shift again. He raised his fists and roared, a little scorch mark burnt into the metal of his mask.

Golemon aimed a strike at Biyomon and Hawkmon, and Strabimon and Nikolai raised a warning. It came too late, however – but it came soon enough for Biyomon to push Hawkmon out of the way to take the full strike to her smaller body. She fell like a little pink stone, crashing against the side of the mountain and rolling to the base of the trail.

_"Biyomon!"_ Strabimon, Nikolai, and Hawkmon shouted. Pain and worry seared through Nikolai's heart. Biyomon looked badly wounded. Did she survive Golemon's strike?

"You monster!" Hawkmon shouted, his eyes watering with tears for his friend. "I'll never forgive you for that!"

A white light engulfed Hawkmon's body, causing his entire being to glow. Data streams surrounded him, swallowing him in a tornado of colorful streamers. Strabimon looked up, his eyes wide. Golemon closed his eyes against the searing light.

The shell of light broke, revealing a different creature in Hawkmon's place. A more massive, bigger bird hovered there now, with Hawkmon's same red feathers and white head. Two black, curved horns grew from his head while Hawkmon's small feather had become one with the head of this digimon. His legs were much larger and could probably scoop up Nikolai and three other humans if the digimon wanted to. His wings seemed to take up the entire sky, and his tail fanned out behind him to guide his flight.

_"Aquilamon!"_ he shouted. _"Blast Rings!"_ He opened his beak and rings of flame cracked through the air, accompanied by the sound of thunder. They struck Golemon and drove him back a few steps, eliciting a moan of anguish from the enemy. Aquilamon let out a great cry and dove to attack again.

"What happened?" Nikolai wondered.

"Biyomon being injured must have been enough for Hawkmon to digivolve into Aquilamon!" Strabimon replied. The blue beast digimon leaped to Biyomon's side. He picked her up gently in his arms before flashing over to Nikolai to set her down. "She's alive, but hurt. Keep an eye on her, will you? Your efforts are valiant and all, but they aren't of much use."

Nikolai nodded and knelt down beside Biyomon. He laid a hand on her soft pink feathers and listened, just to make sure that she was breathing. He looked up to Strabimon, frowning. The digimon was looking at Golemon and Aquilamon fighting, yet it seemed as if he was staring off into space.

"You can feel it, can't you?" Nikolai guessed.

Strabimon's eyes flickered in Nikolai's direction.

"You can feel the darkness inside of Golemon," Nikolai continued. "So can I."

"I can feel it, yes," Strabimon agreed, "but there's nothing that can be done about it."

"How do you know that?"

"Because," Strabimon frowned. "I am a digimon who possesses the Spirit of Light within his Core… but I don't have enough power on my own to remove the shadows that haunt this Golemon and make him do these things."

Nikolai swallowed. He looked up at Aquilamon and Golemon fighting. Something moved within him, something he had never felt before. He nudged Biyomon gently, urging her to awaken. Strabimon watched him carefully, his eyes sharp. Aquilamon could keep Golemon at bay with his anger and frustration, but not for long.

Biyomon's eyes opened halfway at Nikolai's prodding. She looked up at Nikolai and Strabimon and coughed, "S-Sorry… I couldn't… I couldn't let him… get hurt…"

"I know," Strabimon replied. "That is nothing to be ashamed of."

Biyomon coughed and looked at Nikolai. "What do you want…?" she asked. "I can't… I can't fight…"

_"You_ can't fight, but you can change like Hawkmon did, right?" Nikolai asked.

Biyomon turned her head to look at Aquilamon. She looked back at Nikolai and nodded meekly. She told him, "I think I have the strength to do that…"

"Biyomon!" Strabimon growled. "Don't overexert yourself!" He glared at Nikolai and snapped, "Just what is it that you're thinking of, human? If this goes wrong then Biyomon will be in worse condition than this by the end of it!"

"Just… just trust me, OK?" Nikolai requested. "I can feel it… I can _do_ something."

Strabimon opened his mouth, as if he were about to protest, but that light flashed in his eyes – the light that Nikolai had seen before. "Don't be reckless," he grunted instead. "If you're really a Digidestined, then you have some use or another…"

Nikolai couldn't help but smirk. He looked down at Biyomon and asked, "Are you ready?"

Biyomon nodded. "Just… give me some space," she requested.

Nikolai stood and backed up as far as he could without getting too close to the destroyed part of the mountain. Strabimon stepped away as well. Biyomon sat herself up and closed her eyes. Nikolai sensed that she was reaching deep within herself, looking for the strength she needed.

Soon enough, she began to glow in a way very similar to how Hawkmon had changed into Aquilamon minutes ago. Data surrounded her in streams, covering her body as it changed and expanded. The data shell broke, revealing a huge bird digimon, about the size of Aquilamon. Her feathers were flames, and her beak was that of a beast. Her talons were sharp, and her tail seemed to spin off into eternity with its flames. She looked up to the sky and screeched, _"Birdramon!"_

She looked down at Nikolai and asked, "So… what now?"

"Get me to him," Nikolai requested, pointing at Golemon. "Get me as close as you can without hurting yourself."

Birdramon nodded and offered her leg. Nikolai grasped it and planted his feet on her talons. He nodded to her when he was ready. She raised her wings and flapped, and suddenly they were airborne. Nikolai struggled to keep his balance, but as they ascended he looked down at Strabimon. The digimon was looking up at him, with something like worry in his eyes.

_I'll come back,_ he promised. _I hope…_

* * *

"Hurry, Kidd!" Loaño said earnestly, gripping the fur on his back as if it were reins. The werewolf digimon was scaling the mountain with ease, instinctually finding every little crevice where he could put his paws. Yet he seemed to be climbing so slowly! She looked up the mountain and saw nothing by rocks and scraggly bushes. She could feel it, however – the power rising. She could feel it ready to be unleashed.

She had to be there, just in case something went wrong.

"Hurry!" she insisted.

"Hol' yer Unimons, pup… I'm climbin' as fas' as I can…" KiddGarurumon grunted. "We'll be 'ere…"

Loaño frowned and kept an eye on the mountainside ahead of her._ Please,_ she thought, _please let things be going all right…_

_We shall see what we shall see, little one,_ the voice deep within her soul replied, cool and calm, as always.

It sent a shiver down her spine to hear him, but she trusted him. She had learned to trust him and KiddGarurumon and the Boss, no matter what.

* * *

Birdramon soared towards Golemon. The beast loomed closely, still battling with Aquilamon. The two seemed evenly matched, but Nikolai was sure that Golemon was winning. Aquilamon sent attack after attack at him, and, though they hurt, Golemon seemed to simply be shrugging them off.

"Keep steady!" Nikolai advised Birdramon, his voice shaky. _It's a long fall…_

Birdramon cawed in response. She accelerated, but kept herself as steady as possible. Soon enough, they were practically in front of Golemon. Birdramon flapped her wings to gain more height until they were hovering over Golemon's head.

"Here?" Birdramon asked.

"Yeah," Nikolai affirmed. His heart was pounding, but he felt very confident. "I'll jump off and you and Aquilamon get out of here!" _I don't know what's going to happen, but I get the feeling that it'll be big!_

He leaped off of Birdramon's leg and fell. Birdramon had gotten him as low as she could, so it wasn't too far of a fall. He landed on Golemon's shoulder, tearing the skin of his knees and palms trying to get a grip. Despite Golemon's attacking Aquilamon, Nikolai was able to keep a sure grip on the digimon as he thrashed about.

Birdramon let out a harsh call, and Aquilamon looked her way. "Birdramon?" he cawed. "You're all right!"

The flaming bird gestured with her head and Aquilamon glided to her side. The two flapped in mid-air as Birdramon explained what Nikolai was doing to him. She and Aquilamon nodded in unison before darting to one side, causing Golemon to look that way instead of at the intruder on his shoulder. They kept him steady as Nikolai stood up, his legs wobbling.

Nikolai stepped close to Golemon's head. He touched the metal mask covering Golemon's head and was nearly overwhelmed by… _something._ To him, it felt like pressing his ear against a television on a channel with no signal. It was a fuzzy, piercing noise that shook his entire body. There was an evil laughter in the background of it all, mocking him:

_"So you are the one who holds the Spirit of Light…"_ it said. _"You, with a heart filled with anger and frustration…"_ It laughed. _"It will be interesting to see how you progress as a Digidestined, Nikolai Miles… and it will be even more interesting to see just how long you live…"_

_"Shut up!"_ Nikolai shouted aloud. He pressed his hands against Golemon's head, feeling power explode through his body. It expanded and began to grow, more and more, before it released itself outside his body, manifesting as the white-and-blue data flames that he had seen before. The flames engulfed Golemon from head to toe. Golemon's eyes went from red to blue as Nikolai felt the darkness being removed from the digimon's mind.

"Strabimon!" someone cawed. Nikolai moved his eyes to see Aquilamon and Birdramon dart to the smaller digimon's side as he fell to his knees, covering his ears with his hands. The white-and-blue light was surrounding him as well, and Nikolai felt more strength pouring into his body, which made him focus all the more on releasing Golemon.

The evil creature came forth again to cackle, _"You are just like your father, Nikolai Miles."_

"I thought I told you to _shut up!"_ Nikolai yelled.

The flames broke around Golemon, shattering like glass. Golemon wheezed and groaned, opening his mouth. Black-and-purple data streamed from his mouth like a sickness, arcing up towards the sky before it disappeared completely. Golemon's eyes returned to their normal red color, yet the malice and shadows were gone.

Nikolai removed his hands from Golemon's face as the huge digimon turned to look at him. Nikolai's eyes rolled back into his head and he slipped off of Golemon's shoulder, falling towards the ground like a stone.

"You… saved me…" Golemon rumbled.

Golemon reached down and caught Nikolai before he fell to the ground and broke into pieces. Strabimon felt a sense of relief wash through him, seeing that Nikolai was safe. He pushed himself to his feet, unsure of what that feeling just now had been. It was like he and Nikolai were sharing the same mind, somehow.

"I… I am sorry…" Golemon told them apologetically. He laid Nikolai down before Strabimon. Birdramon and Aquilamon hunkered down beside Nikolai, getting as close as they could. They observed the human worriedly, as if they thought he would die.

_No,_ Strabimon thought. _You won't die that easily, will you?_

Strabimon knelt down beside Nikolai and frowned. Ever since he had locked eyes with this human he had felt a strange connection between the two of them. It was more than mere coincidence. He gently touched the boy on his chest, feeling his heart beat steadily. He closed his eyes and reached with all he had. He touched a reservoir of some kind, full of light. He opened his eyes.

_He holds the Spirit of Light…_ Strabimon thought to himself, amazed. _And it was just now unleashed… within the both of us! How can this be…?_

"Mum…" Nikolai mumbled suddenly.

_Mum?_ Strabimon repeated inwardly. _What is he dreaming of…?_

* * *

"Mum…" Nikolai called. "Mum! Where are you?"

He stood alone in a vast expanse of grass. Fog surrounded him and the sky was dark. A harsh wind blew, carrying the voice of his mother to his ears; teasing him. He sighed – so she wasn't there. It was only the wind.

Alone. He was all alone.

Nikolai began walking. He walked and walked and walked for what felt like three eternities before he came to a pool set in the ground. It was filled with clear water that somehow did not reflect the state of the sky at all – it was pure blue, and Nikolai could see straight to the bottom.

He knelt beside the water and washed his face, closing his eyes to avoid water invading his contacts. He ran a damp hand through his scraggly, messy hair and shook the excess water off of himself.

When he opened his eyes, he was shocked.

His reflection in the water was not his own, but that of his father. Though the two looked eerily similar – his mother had said so herself – he could tell the difference. The face in the water was longer and older and more worn than his own. The hair was longer, the eyes greener.

"No…" Nikolai whispered. He reached down and touched the water, his fingertips rippling the surface. The reflection did not change.

Nikolai shook his head and growled, "No! No, no, no!"

He slammed his hands into the water, palming up great amounts in an attempt to destroy the reflection – the lie. In the end of his frenzy of splashing the only result was that his hands were covered in mud and he himself was soaked with water. The reflection in the pool was still the same.

"I am _not_ you…" Nikolai gasped, breathless. Tears welled in his eyes. "I'm not!"

He looked up as a tear fell down his cheek. A bright light broke through the clouds, and a wave of calm and peace fell over him. His anger faded. He stood up from the pool, soaked and muddy, and reached for the light in the sky. He closed his eyes peacefully and felt the soft touch of someone else.

* * *

Nikolai opened his eyes to find a girl sitting on top of him. She was staring right at him, her silver eyes sparkling with serenity. She wore a simple white dress that flowed smoothly off of her small frame, her blonde hair lazily braided and adorned with a crystalline butterfly clip. She gave him a smile.

"Wakey, wakey," she chuckled. "How are things, sleepyhead?"

Nikolai opened his mouth, but heat flooded his face and he could say nothing to her. Was she the light that had saved him from his dream?

She frowned at him and his lack of a response. She sighed and said, "He's speechless. Lovely."

"He's been through quite the ordeal," Strabimon offered. He came into view above Nikolai's head and looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Don't you _ever_ pull something like that again – not unless you want to get yourself killed, that is."

Nikolai could only grunt.

"It coul' be, pup," someone grunted, " 'at yer sittin' on 'is lungs."

"Oh!" the girl realized. She moved off of him and knelt in the dirt instead. Breath returned to Nikolai's lungs and he took great mouthfuls of air. "Sorry," she offered.

Nikolai coughed and pushed himself up, with a little help from Strabimon. He found himself surrounded by digimon: Golemon towered over him, blocking out the sun; Birdramon and Aquilamon sat at his head and feet, respectively; and Strabimon and the girl knelt by his side. On his other side was a taller digimon, this one in the shape of a werewolf of some kind, with blue fur and an intimidating air.

"Ugh… what happened… who are you?" Nikolai wondered, looking at the girl. She wasn't the one that he had followed into the computer lab, but she was a human all the same.

"My name is Loaño," she offered. "Princess of the Digital Twilight. That over there is KiddGarurumon, my partner."

"Your… partner…?" Nikolai wondered. He was more curious about _her,_ to be honest. What was she doing here? She was the Princess that Strabimon had talked about? Why was a human the Princess of a world of digimon?

She nodded, offering him a smirk. "We have a lot to talk about, Nikolai Miles…"

_She… knows my name… _he thought. The knowledge seemed to be too much for him, however, and he lay back down, closing his eyes. Blackness took over, and he felt himself drift away into unconsciousness.


	9. Episode 9

**Oh, ha ha ha.**

**Episode 9: The Group Grows**

"I wonder why the Boss is calling us back," Wild sighed. "We weren't even three steps out of the courtyard…"

"Me, too," Flamemon sighed. "Maybe he forgot something?"

"Probably."

Flamemon tugged on Wild's arm and said excitedly, "Look, Wild! Look up!"

Wild directed her attention to the skies just as two great shapes soared by. They were two huge birds, bigger than any digimon that Wild had seen yet, one styled after a phoenix and the other a huge hawk with red feathers. From the looks of things, they bore passengers on their backs, and they descended into the courtyard of the Boss's castle.

"_That's_ probably our answer," Wild deduced, pointing at the birds.

"Wow…" Flamemon sighed, "a Birdramon and an Aquilamon… so beautiful!"

"There are people on their back," Wild pointed out. "Come on – let's hurry!"

Flamemon nodded and the two of them jogged back into the courtyard. It didn't take long – they hadn't been that far away before the Boss had called them back – and soon enough they were standing at the feet of these two massive bird digimon. The Boss stood between them, looking up at their passengers. Wild looked up as well.

"Princess!" she gasped.

"Heya, Wild!" Loaño called chipperly down from the back of the Aquilamon. Kidd sat just behind her, preparing to get off. The massive wolf landed on his feet, bending his knees to absorb the impact, before he turned to gently grasp Loaño by her shoulders and hoist her down off the Aquilamon. Loaño squirmed a bit, insisting that she could get off the damn bird herself, before Kidd let her go. She landed with the soft _paft_ of bare feet.

"What happened?" Wild wondered.

"That's what I'd like to know," the Boss growled. He walked up to the Princess and snapped, "Didn't I tell you _not_ to rush off and get yourself into trouble? What in all the Digital World would possess you to just -"

"Will you all stop yelling? My head hurts enough as it is…" someone groaned.

Wild and the others turned to examine the Birdramon. Someone was making their way down, someone that Wild felt she should recognize. When he turned around, she gasped.

_"You!"_ she breathed, pointing at the boy who had been throwing away his food right at the time where Wild had been envisioning Allomon tearing apart Flamemon.

_"You!"_ he returned, pointing back. The two stared at each other like idiots, and silence fell over the small group of humans and digimon. A blue beast-like digimon, similar in size and shape to Flamemon, slipped off of the blazing Birdramon to landed at the boy's side.

"I… take it that you two are already acquainted?" the blue digimon decided.

"What are you doing here?" Wild demanded. "How did you get here? Who told you about this place?" She took a threatening step towards him, trying to mimic all the threatening figures she had encountered in her lifetime. She squared her shoulders, frowning deeply. If he was here to harm the Digital World, then he was in for a world of ruing!

"I was following you!" he claimed. "You looked like you were sick – I thought you needed help! You went into the computer lab and I followed you, but when I got into the room you were gone! There was only one computer on and it said to press Enter, so I did! And I ended up here – wherever that is!"

Wild turned to the Boss and said quickly, "I didn't intend for anyone to follow me here – I'm sorry, I-"

"Oh, please – it's not a bad thing!" the Princess interjected happily, a smile plain on her face. She hopped over to the boy's side, despite KiddGarurumon's sneer of protest, and laid a hand on his shoulder. The boy went a little rigid and heat flooded his face as Loaño gestured to him and announced, "This is Nikolai Miles – he's a Digidestined, too, Wild! He's a good guy! He saved a Golemon by ridding its Core of the darkness that had been planted inside."

Wild twitched at the name. For some reason, it sounded familiar. She glanced at Flamemon, who shrugged, and sighed. She extended her hand and said, "I'm sorry, then. I'm Tatsuya Namekura; most everyone calls me Wild, though. This is my partner, Flamemon. Good to meet you, I suppose."

Nikolai nodded and took her hand. He had a strong grip, and Wild's mind raced, thinking of someone else who had such a strong grip. An image of a boy a bit younger than Nikolai with the same color hair and eyes as Wild flashed behind her eyes, but she forced it away. She shook his hand and they parted.

"Nikolai Miles," he announced in a very European voice. "I don't really know you, but I've heard of you around the school, Wild. I haven't been there long – just about four months. Haven't had time to get to know anyone… and I guess I'm just as much a stranger here. This is -"

"Strabimon," the blue digimon cut in. "I'm Strabimon."

"Yeah, that," Nikolai grunted. He looked at Wild, as if studying her, and then asked, "How long have you been here?"

Wild shrugged, "Few hours; near a day, by the looks of the sun in the Light Area."

"Aren't we going to be missed in our world?"

Wild shook her head and told him, "No. Trust me; a few hours only equates to barely a minute in the Human World. We haven't been gone long. There's a way back if you want to take it, but I'm staying for as long as I can to help."

"Wild! Guess what!" Loaño said happily, her silver eyes sparkling. "Nikolai here has a DigiPower, too!"

"A what?" Nikolai wondered.

"What does it do?" Wild wondered.

"It seems to purify digimon infected with darkness," Strabimon explained. "At least, that's from our own observation."

The Boss frowned. "This DigiPower worked without the presence of his partner digimon?" he asked, curious. "That doesn't seem right."

"Well, his partner is obviously one of these three digimon," Loaño pointed out. "They were the only digimon around him when it activated, and it's working even though Golemon isn't with us."

"So, who is it?" Flamemon wondered. He flicked his flaming tail and added, "It'd be fun to play with someone!"

Wild frowned and decided, "Its Strabimon."

"Huh?" Strabimon wondered.

"Wha? How'd you know that, Wild?" Loaño asked. Kidd pricked his ears and looked at her with icy eyes clear and full of curiosity.

"Yes, I'd like to know that as well…" the Boss rumbled.

Wild shrugged. "Just a hunch," she said. "I highly doubt that it's one of these digimon," she said, pointing to Birdramon and Aquilamon. "Besides; Strabimon, you know what Nikolai's DigiPower can do, even though no one else can seem to have a clear picture of it. Flamemon knows what my DigiPower does."

"One way to find out, I suppose," Flamemon decided. "If Birdramon and Aquilamon could fly away, and Nikolai could activate his DigiPower, then we'd be able to tell for sure, since the Boss doesn't have a partner and the Princess has a partner already… and so do you, Wild!"

"Is this really that important?" Nikolai wondered.

"Yes," the Boss decided. He tapped his cane against the ground and ordered, "Birdramon, Aquilamon, I'd like you both to fly to the aviary and give your wings a rest. We'll call upon you if we need you. The aviary is just on the other side of the castle. You'll know it when you see it."

"Thank you," Aquilamon cawed. He flapped his wings and leaped into the air, Birdramon trailing after him. They were a fair distance away very quickly. Those who remained looked over to Nikolai, who frowned.

"Uh… OK… I'll give it a go," he promised. He closed his eyes and seemed to be focusing. Strabimon stood next to him, one ear twitching.

Suddenly, Nikolai's fists lit up with white data flames, tinged with blue at the ends. He looked shocked to have had it happen, and he looked at his hands, awed and confused. He looked between his hands and Strabimon and mouthed, _wow…_

"So they are partners," the Boss sighed. "I suppose that's fitting. Seeing as how Wild and Flamemon both bear the Spirit of Flame, then I wager that Nikolai and Strabimon both hold the Spirit of Light. Like Flamemon, Strabimon holds the legacy of one of the Ancient Warriors. I'm starting to see a pattern here."

He tapped his cane against the ground. "But that's enough for introductions. Let's move this conversation to my solar. We will share all our information there, so that everyone is on the same page."

* * *

_"Zen, Aws… you've both failed me…"_ the Master seethed. _"This is becoming troublesome."_

"The Digidestined are stronger than we thought, Master," Aws replied desperately. "Give us some time to rethink our strategy… we'll come up with something, surely! Without all of us here, however, it's very hard to coordinate and make an effective attack plan…"

Zen snorted beneath his cloak. "Oh quit making excuses, Aws – we failed! Failed, failed, failed!" he chuckled.

Aws glared at him, face reddening. Zen gave the biggest of smiles and dared Aws to attack. The Master disliked this, spreading a wall of shadow between them. They were silenced and they turned their attention back to the Master.

"It wasn't without success, though," Aws reported hesitantly. "We did both find out some information for you…"

_"Oh? It had best be useful,"_ the Master _hiss_ed.

"The first Digidestined; the one with the Spirit of Flame… she digivolved her partner while she was fighting my minion," Aws explained. "I saw the effects – her DigiPower seemed to get stronger as her digimon did. If that's the case then it would seem that their power grows when their digimon digivolves."

"And there's another Digidestined, but you probably already know that," Zen scoffed. "Spirit of Light, with Strabimon as his partner."

_"Have they met?"_ the Master asked.

"Most likely, yes," Aws answered.

The Master was silent for a moment, as if it were mulling over something. _"Very well,"_ it said finally, _"let them converse. One Digidestined making their digimon become Champion level does not scare me; nor should it frighten you, my children… we continue on as planned, keeping this information in mind."_

"Are… Are we to be punished?" Aws wondered.

_"Do you wish for punishment?"_

"No!"

_"Very well then. Let this be a lesson to you, Aws and Zen. Do not anger me. Do what is required of you and all shall work in our favor,"_ the Master _hiss_ed to them. _"We shall test the resolve of these Digidestined… let us see just how committed they are to stopping us…"_

* * *

"So, how do you like the Digital World?" Wild wondered, crossing her arms. The Boss had finished a very lengthy explanation, with input here and there from Wild and the Princess. Nikolai and Strabimon shared their story with them as well, up until the Princess came to retrieve them.

"Well, between getting attacked by monsters and being stranded on a cliff it's a pretty beautiful place," Nikolai confessed with a shrug. "It's interesting… a world within a world, connected to us through computers. I wonder who created this place?"

"I asked that once," Wild admitted, "didn't get much of an answer. The digimon don't know who's responsible for this place – the only one that I would think would know anything is the Boss, but I doubt that he would say anything about it."

Nikolai glanced over at the Princess, who was lounging on the Boss's plush couch. Her eyes were closed; Wild assumed that she was asleep. KiddGarurumon had gone with the Boss when he had gone to examine Dinohyumon's Digiegg. Flamemon was lying on top of the Princess - because she had joked about the room being too cold to nap properly – napping as well. Strabimon was leaning in a corner, his eyes closed, presumably in thought.

"What's the deal with her?" he wondered, gesturing to the Princess. "She's a human, too."

Wild shrugged and said, "Apparently she's been here for a long time, longer than she can remember. Why she's the Princess, I don't know; I assume that since she's been the only human here the digimon revere her or something."

"She's no older than us," Nikolai realized. "In fact, I think she's younger… and she's never been to our world?"

"Not that I know of," Wild answered. "She seems to act like she's as much a digimon as any other digimon here – she knows she's different, but no one seems to have really acknowledged it until now."

Nikolai's eyes softened upon looking at the Princess. "She must feel weird about this," he decided. "It doesn't seem to be that she's ever met another human before us, Wild… the closest thing she's probably has is the Boss… and he's a digimon."

"We shouldn't be sitting here dissecting someone we barely know," Wild decided sternly. "It's not our business."

Nikolai coughed and decided, "Right…" He looked up at her and wondered, "So, how long have you been coming here?"

"This is my second time," Wild replied. "The first time was over the weekend. My computer wigged out and displayed that message. I pressed Enter and wound up here, on top of Flamemon. I came here and the Princess opened the way home… so I went. I didn't expect the computer in the lab to have the message, too. I've tried looking up all kinds of information on this place, but I found a whole lot of nothing… which is strange. I always find something."

"You must feel at home here," Nikolai grunted. "You love computers, right? And this place is just one giant computer. It must be easy for you to adapt. Me? I don't really get this place, but I want to help it."

"So do I," Wild mused, "especially since I found out that what happens in this world can eventually leak into ours. If we stop it here, then we won't have to worry. Besides… something about this place seems… familiar. I don't know why."

Nikolai frowned and sighed, saying, "I know what you mean. It's like I've always known about this place, but I can't think of it."

_"Déjà vu__," _Loaño piped up, opened her silver eyes from her nap. "That's what it is."

"Princess…" Nikolai breathed. "How much of that did you… did you hear…?"

"Enough," she said, yawning. "It's hard to sleep when you have a big galumph like Flamemon plopped on top of you – at least he doesn't weigh as much as Kidd. Anyway, don't call me _Princess_ – my name's Loaño."

Nikolai's face flushed, and he grumbled, "Oh… alright."

"What do you mean by that, Loaño?" Wild wondered, raising an eyebrow. _"__Déjà vu?"_

"It's a phenomenon where you believe an event or an experience has occurred in the past and that you were there for it," Loaño explained. "I've read about it. What you were talking about – about knowing but not knowing – that's _déjà vu._ It means _already seen."_

"You know French?" Nikolai asked.

"French?" Loaño wondered quizzically. She shrugged. "A little, I guess. I mean, I know a little bit about the Human World; not much. I know that French is a language and France is a place. I've never been there before, though."

"I get what you're saying," Wild said, sighing. "It's the most logical explanation, I suppose. But I doubt that we can delve into it now. We need to figure out what to do from here."

"We need to fix the Mountain Zone," Strabimon insisted, opening his eyes. He looked at Wild and said severely, "The Boss said that you had the power to do that. Do you?"

Wild frowned. "I'm not sure," she replied, "but I can try. I see your point, Strabimon… that place needs to be fixed if we're going to even attempt to show Aws and Zen that we're a threat to them. We've got to make it known that we're willing to fight back."

"The Mountain Zone is a long ways away from here," Loaño pointed out. "We'd have to borrow Birdramon and Aquilamon to get there."

"You mean me and Nikolai," Wild stated. Loaño looked insulted, but Wild went on, "The Boss is not going to let you run away again, good reason or not. Princess, you're important. You need to stay here and stay safe."

"I want to fight," Loaño growled. "I'm not going to be the pampered little Princess who stands by and watches her world crumble all around her from some cushiony seat on a throne!"

"You can take that up with the Boss," Nikolai pointed out. "I doubt he'll see things the same way."

Loaño frowned at him and sat up, Flamemon falling off of her abruptly. He hit the ground, the shock of the impact causing him to awaken. The Princess pushed herself off the couch and stormed out of the solar. Wild could almost smell her anger singing the air as she left.

She glanced at Nikolai, who looked hurt and confused. Nikolai glanced at Wild and wondered, "Was it something I said?"

"I rather think so," Wild replied starkly.

Flamemon, waking up from his nap, rubbed his head and wondered, "What happened? One minute I'm dreaming about some nice onion burgers, the next I'm falling off a mountain and the Princess is upset! Wild, what's going on?"

"You and me need to go to the Mountain Zone," Wild told him, "so we can fix the damage there. The Princess…"

"It's my fault," Nikolai said, butting in. "Don't worry about it. I'll apologize later…"

"So… we're going to the mountains?" Flamemon asked.

"Yeah," Wild replied, nodding. "Just as soon as we can confirm it with the Boss."

"Which you can do right now," the Boss announced as he opened the door to reveal himself. He stepped into the room leisurely, with a smirk, and chuckled, "I saw a very angry Princess storming down the hallway just a moment ago. Who was stupid enough to piss her off?"

Nikolai looked away from the Boss, grunting. The Boss glared at Nikolai and tapped the young man on the shoulder with his cane. "Lad, don't you know it's not wise to piss off women? No matter the species… when they're upset, it's quite unsettling; especially when it's our Princess. I assume that you will be a gentleman about it all and apologize to her later, yes?"

The young man looked up at the Boss and only nodded.

"So, what's going on?" Wild asked. "Flamemon and I are planning on going to the Mountain Zone to repair it… but what about everyone else?"

"And can we even go?" Flamemon asked.

"Of course you can go," the Boss answered, nodding. "The Mountain Zone is in dire need to repair, and if it doesn't happen soon, some digimon are going to be spending the night freezing outside. As for the rest of you… Nikolai, I'd like you and Strabimon to have a look at Dinohyumon's Digiegg and see if there's anything you can do for it. The very data that makes up the egg seems to be corrupted, and I can't remove it. Your DigiPower should be able to take care of it."

Nikolai looked to Strabimon, and the two of them nodded. "Alright," Nikolai agreed, "we'll help."

"Good," the Boss said, nodding. "As for you, Wild… I suggest that you and Flamemon head off for the Mountain Zone as soon as possible. There's no time to waste. You have Aquilamon and Birdramon's support for the trip, so choose whichever you feel to ride."

"Birdramon's probably still weak from fighting Golemon," Strabimon advised. "I'd let her rest."

"Right," Wild agreed. "We'll see if Aquilamon can give us a ride."

"Good… and I don't think I need to repeat your need for urgency," the Boss told her. "But don't overwork yourself. You don't yet know your limits with your DigiPower – I don't want you to put yourself into a situation where you cannot defend yourselves. Wild may be the one who expressed the DigiPower, but it comes from _both_ of you equally. The same goes for you two, Nikolai and Strabimon."

Wild nodded and beckoned for Flamemon to follow. She walked to the door, only to be stopped by the Boss.

"Wild, dear; you have no idea where the aviary is," the Boss chuckled. "You have no idea where you're going, but I like your enthusiasm. Hang on for a moment and I'll take you there, before you get lost – and trust me; my castle is not one you want to be lost inside."

* * *

"Of course I'll ferry you to the mountains, Wild," Aquilamon cawed. "Just tell me when."

"Right now would be preferable," Wild replied. "If you're up to it."

Aquilamon spread his wings and nodded, bragging, "Of course I am!"

Finding the aviary was actually harder than the Boss had promised. Without his help, Wild and Flamemon would have been hopelessly lost in his expansive castle – which seemed bigger on the inside than it did on the outside. He led them through winding corridors and down long hallways, each one decorated more elaborately and differently than the last. They saw few digimon – the Boss had said that they were all either outside or within some of the castle rooms. It took about fifteen minutes to get from the Boss's solar to the aviary, though it seemed to take much longer.

Bird digimon of all kinds lived here. The aviary was designed something like a massive cage – but there were openings for digimon to fly in and out. Some clung to the cage to sleep; others flew around the huge area to stretch their wings. The bottom of the cage was like a world of its own – a grassy plain with some trees, and a winding stream running through it and into the castle. There weren't just bird digimon here, either – Wild spotted some digimon who looked to be more draconic than ornithological. Pretty much any digimon with wings hung out in this place.

"I wonder if I'll have wings someday?" Flamemon said, his eyes sparkling. "It'd be awesome to fly."

"Who knows?" Wild replied, shrugging. "It sure must be useful in the mountains. I can't imagine the ground being all that hospitable."

"Every Zone has different terrain, Lady Digidestined," Aquilamon offered to her as he crouched down. Wild, with help from Flamemon, grasped some of his feathers and pulled herself onto his back. She found that she fit comfortably, as if Aquilamon's back were made for a human to sit. As Wild helped Flamemon onto his back, Aquilamon continued, "And it houses the digimon within that are best suited for that terrain. We bird digimon favor the mountains, but there are hardier digimon on the mountain without wings."

"I see," Wild grunted, pulling Flamemon up the rest of the way. He sat in front of her, hanging on to Aquilamon's white-feathered mane.

"Are you ready, Lady Digidestined?"

"There's no need for the formality, Aquilamon," Wild replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Just call me Wild. But, yes; we are ready."

"Not yet you're not!" someone shouted from down below.

"Princess!" Flamemon exclaimed, looking down.

Wild looked down from Aquilamon and found that the Princess was indeed standing just below them. She wore simple clothes – a shirt and pants, though she was still barefoot, and her hair was down.

She gave them a smirk and announced, "I'm coming with you."

"Princess!" Aquilamon gasped.

"No, you're not," Wild returned. "The Boss doesn't want you leaving, remember?"

Loaño let out a loud scoff at that. She crossed her arms and said, "Look here, Wild – I am the Princess of the Digital Twilight. Digimon look up to me as someone who can protect them. As long as I exist, they have hope. I'm sick of standing on the sidelines when I should be out there helping the digimon who look up to me so. I don't care what the Boss thinks – I'm coming with you."

"What about KiddGarurumon?" Flamemon wondered, wary. Wild nodded slightly, knowing that her bodyguard couldn't possibly be supportive of the idea.

Loaño shrugged and said, "Oh, he's fine with it. In fact, he's heading out to meet us there. Probably make it to the Mountain Zone faster than Aquilamon here."

Wild sank – well, there went the possibility of reasoning with her.

"It's about time that I see for myself what Aws and Zen and whoever else has done," Loaño told them. "What use am I if I don't try and help?"

Wild looked at Flamemon. The young digimon frowned and said quietly, "We can't stop her."

"I know," Wild replied. She looked back down to the Princess and decided, "Hop on."

Loaño gave them a smile. "You won't regret it," she promised.


	10. Episode 10

**Episode 10: A Leaf On the Wind**

Yukio had finally found it. He had spent weeks trying to find this game, and there it had been – the perfect price, the perfect shipping dates, everything had been perfect. It was so rare a game that where he had found it was possibly the only place he would ever find it… and it had taken him weeks to track that particular site down. It was a game worth tracking down with such ferocity, and just as he had confirmed his shipping and credit card information…

The computer had crashed.

At least, that's what Yukio had thought had happened. At this moment, he severely doubted that.

It had come up with a black screen on his monitor, with white text depicting some sort of error. It'd happened before on one of his older computers, but then the screen had been blue, not black, and it was because of his overloading the graphics card by playing game very heavy on graphics and frame rate. He had known that this was something different… and no matter what he had done, the screen did not go away.

He hadn't wanted to press Enter like it had beckoned rather cheerfully for him to do. He had been sure it was some sort of virus trap that would completely lay waste to his computer, and he had plenty of valuable things on that computer that were worth keeping and would be very hard to get back if he somehow lost it.

However, it had been the only option. Nothing he had done changed the screen – he had unplugged the computer from both the power supply and the outlet, and still it remained there. He had tried everything he knew to do when something like this happened, and none of it had worked.

Enter was the only option, and he had taken it. After all, he had enough money in savings to buy a new computer if this one was ruined, he supposed. It would be a pain to recollect all those lost games and get back to where he was in them, but he had figured it was better than to leave that screen sit there for who knows how long…

And now he was here.

He wasn't sure how it worked, but he somehow ended up smack dab in the middle of some sort of grassland. He could see in the distance that there was something – some buildings or a town erected in the middle of the plains – but other than that there was nothing but long grass that reached to his knees and wind.

Lots of wind.

It was strong and tossed his hair, threatening to toss him, too; it came from the direction of the buildings. The air itself didn't even smell all that pleasant, either – sort of stale and stagnant. He wondered why, but he was more concerned with how the hell he'd gotten here and how the hell he could get home. Being outdoors was not something that Yukio was thrilled about.

_Is this some sort of game?_ He thought. That was possible; he'd heard of virtual reality gaming starting to hit the market and he was interested – but what kind of game was this, and why did it seem so real? No matter where he looked, he couldn't see any signs of lag or messiness in the design of this "game". If it were made of frames, it was very well put-together, and all the polygons seemed to flow – the ground beneath him wasn't just a flat plain with a texture laid over it. It felt and seemed real to the touch.

"I need to get out of here," Yukio decided aloud. He didn't like this place. It was too… outdoorsy. And if this "game" did not produce some sort of element to keep him interested, he would have no choice other than to leave and remove it from his computer. He had better things to do than this.

He started towards the buildings. In every game he'd played, buildings were the best place to go when unsure. Usually it meant some sort of town or civilization, where NPCs could provide directions for what to do to progress. He would talk to a few of them, get an idea of where this "game" was going, and decide then whether or not it was worth it to leave. Perhaps there was some sort of save point there that he could use.

The wind was getting stronger the closer he got to the buildings, and the closer her got to the buildings the more defined they became. They were basic huts, built from what looked like mortar made from mud and grass. Still, they looked very nice and there were several of them, all capable of standing up in the wind. A very large tree – which Yukio had thought was another building from a few kilometers back – stood in the middle of the village, its branches pointing in all directions. Signs hung from these branches, each one labeled with places that one could go if they followed the branch in that direction.

_Useful,_ Yukio thought, _for later._ He stopped at the outskirts of the village and stuffed his hands into his pockets, finding his Nintendo 3DS stashed there. Frowning, he pulled it out to examine it. He opened it and turned it on, the device _ping_ing to life only to display to him that he was very nearly out of battery life. Sighing, he closed it and replaced it in his pocket.

_Odd,_ he remarked to himself. _Why would that come with me here? I guess that's how this game works… I wonder if there's a place to charge it?_

He looked about and found nearly no one until he came upon a group of… people. He had thought they were people at first, but he realized now that they weren't. They were monsters. Monsters huddled up in a small group before a larger building. One had wings and was floating above the crowd.

_Are they the citizens of this place?_ He thought. It was more than possible, he was sure. His eyes flitted over them all – there were ones that looked like lizards, a small few resembled insects, others resembled birds or dogs or dragons and some even looked like a combination of all the above. Only one looked remotely human, and she was the one floating above all the others.

Yukio felt his eyes drawn to her. From behind, all he could see were pointy ears, a shock of light lavender hair, and glimmering green-blue translucent butterfly wings. She seemed reminiscent of a child – probably shorter than him and maybe very young.

Something happened to make the crowd of monsters respond in a way that made Yukio think something bad was happening in this village. They shivered and dispersed, some with sad eyes, others crying. They, however, didn't notice Yukio much at all. The flying girl remained, fluttering to the ground. Most of the monsters retreated into their homes, leaving she and one others.

She approached a monster that looked something like an oversized swan. She was pretty, with pale gray and grey feathers. She actually looked relatively normal, aside from her size and her legs, which were either mechanized or covered in armor. Cradled in her wings, she held a set of three little creatures that were smaller than Yukio's head. One red, one black, and one that appeared to be some sort of little seedling. The girl touched this one on the head.

Yukio sensed that no other creature was going to make itself known to him. He stepped forward and coughed, "Um… hello."

The swan let out a frightened _squack_ and shielded the little creatures with her wings. The girl stepped before them and shouted a warning to the swan, standing in a defensive position.

Yukio looked her over. She was definitely a child-like creature, and small compared to him. She had an impish look about her, but in a very pretty way. Her lavender hair looked more like a crown of feathers. She wore a mixture of purple cloth and lavender armor – her hands and feet were armored to look like birds' claws, and she wore cloth to cover up most of her body. Her eyes were a very pretty pink color, and half her face was covered with a scarf. Little markings, like tattoos, marked her skin below her eyes and her midriff, which was exposed.

"Get back!" she shouted. Her voice was surprisingly strong despite her size.

Yukio held up his hands. "I'm not here to hurt you," he offered. "Just to figure out where I am and what I'm supposed to be doing here."

The imp-girl's pink eyes burned into his, and Yukio got the sense that she was reading him. After what seemed like forever, she loosened up and turned to the swan. "It's OK, Swanmon," she offered. "I don't think he'll hurt us…"

"H-How can you be sure?" Swanmon, the swan, asked, looking at Yukio warily. She cradled the smaller monsters with such tenderness that Yukio figured she must be their mother - or their caretaker, by the fact that the monsters looked nothing like one another.

The girl looked back at Yukio. "I don't know, but I can feel it," she replied.

"Yes, but he's… _human_…" Swanmon said, shivering. "You know we can't trust humans, Breezemon; especially not after _this_…" She pointed with her beak to the little creatures hidden in her wings.

Breezemon, the girl, closed her eyes. She seemed to be in thought. When she opened them, her pink eyes seemed sharper and more defined. "It's OK, Swanmon – I _know_ it," she assured the bird. "I… I think he can help us."

_Good,_ Yukio thought, _this is starting to sound more like what I'm used to…_

Swanmon looked between Breezemon and Yukio and sighed. "Whatever you decide, Breezemon, I'll be inside looking after them. Such a tragic happening…" The bird lumbered back into the bigger hut, a flap of cloth closing behind her.

Breezemon cocked her head at Yukio and leaped, landing gracefully before him. Her wings fluttered as she looked up at him in examination. She was a pretty little imp, that was for sure, and her hair looked feathery soft.

"I'm Breezemon," she said, holding out a clawed hand.

"Yukio," he replied. He'd already forgotten her name upon hearing it. He took her hand in his and asked, "Can you tell me where I might be able to go to get some sort of tutorial?"

"Tutorial?" Breezemon repeated, obviously confused. "On what?"

"How to play this game, of course," Yukio replied, sensing something wrong. Her response seemed so… _human;_ not what he was used to in games, where all responses were predetermined. _The voice acting here is incredible,_ Yukio thought as he looked at her.

"Game?" Breezemon repeated again. She shook her head, "You must be mistaken; this isn't a game. This is the Digital World."

"Digital World?" Sounded like a world where a game would take place to him.

"Yes, and we are digimon," Breezemon instructed. "This must be your first time here… there haven't been humans around the Digital World in ages… well, until now, of course."

"Digimon…" Yukio repeated. "Alright; I get it. This must be some sort of monster-taming game, right? I just have to tame one of you and you'll help me?"

Breezemon looked thoroughly confused, and slightly insulted. She narrowed her eyes and him and fluttered her wings, lifting herself up to eye level. "Are you… hurt?" she wondered. "If you are, Swanmon can take care of you. She might be busy, but she can help."

"No, I'm not hurt," Yukio insisted. _Damn, this place makes no sense! What am I supposed to be doing? What kind of game is this?_ He sighed and asked, "So… what's going on?"

Breezemon frowned and seemed to deflate a little. She dropped back to the ground and answered, "A cloaked person came and began spreading a sickness throughout the Plains Zone. It's already killed some digimon and they didn't revert back to Digieggs when they died."

"Is that supposed to happen?"

"Yes, of course!" Breezemon snapped sadly. "We revert to Digieggs when we die so we can be reborn again, with all our experiences and our memories… but that didn't happen to those who died of the sickness… and now it's hit the village. The little ones… the Babies… they got sick really quick. Botamon and Punimon and… and Nyokimon…" She sniffled.

Yukio frowned. It hurt him somewhere inside to see her sad. "How can I help?" he asked. He reached into his jacket and fumbled about, finding that his notebook and pen had made it here with him, too. He pulled them out and opened the notebook to a fresh page. He clicked his pen and wrote, _Sickness infecting young "digimon"._

Breezemon looked up at him and tilted her head. "What are you doing?" she asked. She fluttered up to eye level again and tried to peer at Yukio's notebook. Yukio cursed and snapped it shut, stepping away from her.

"Keep out, Twinkle Toes," he grumbled. "This is private stuff."

"Twinkle Toes?" Breezemon repeated, confused.

"That's what I'm calling you."

"But my name is Breezemon…"

"I prefer Twinkle Toes. Easier to remember for me," Yukio insisted. "Now stay out of my stuff. Just tell me what it is I can do to help." _I haven't spoken this much since I was a kid!_ He thought, _huff_ing. _I just want to help and get my reward so I can leave this place and move on. Introductory towns are so boring!_

Breezemon looked affronted by his behavior, but she didn't protest. She looked grateful that someone – anyone – was willing to help. She looked out into the distance, out into the endless plains, and said, "There's a Shamanmon out there somewhere, leading a clan of Goblimon. He's the only digimon I can think of who could possibly have a cure of some kind without venturing too far away from the ones who need help. Swanmon doesn't want me to go out there alone, but I have to. I'm the only one who's willing to go out there."

Yukio frowned, considering her words. He looked up at the tree, examining the signs. He pointed to one and asked, "Where's this… Castle? Wouldn't that place have some sort of remedy?"

"The Boss's castle is in the Dark Area," Breezemon told him impatiently. "To get there I'd have to fly all the way across this Zone and through the Forest Zone. It's too long of a trip… and I'm not sure if anyone there would be able to help. No… I _need_ to find the Shamanmon before I try anything else. I have to help those little digimon, before it's too late!"

"So… you need help," Yukio surmised.

Breezemon nodded. She said quietly, "I don't know any digimon who'd be willing to go this far out of their way to help. Things have been so crazy lately… apparently part of the Mountain Zone has disappeared right into thin air… digimon are being violent and angry… and now with this sickness, I'm afraid that the Digital World might fall apart if there isn't a cure found soon!"

Yukio let out a sigh. "All right," he said.

"All right what?" Breezemon wondered, tilting her head.

"I'll help, Twinkle Toes," Yukio told her. "I'll go with you to find this Shamanmon. I'll help you find this cure you need."

Breezemon's face brightened. She fluttered a bit into the air, smiling. She laughed, "Yes! It's just like all those old stories, where humans and digimon help each other out! I can't believe that it's happening to me – here!"

"Yeah, yeah," Yukio sighed, "calm down, Twinkle Toes. Let's just get this over with."

Breezemon's face fell and she sighed. She muttered, "I get the feeling that you're going to be very strange company."

"Says the fairy-girl to the human," Yukio quipped with a roll of his eyes. He nodded to her and requested, "Lead the way."

Breezemon nodded and fluttered ahead of him. Yukio sighed and took a look about the deserted little village before following her, his steps slow and deliberate. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and thought, _What a strange game…_

* * *

Wild sighed. She had a feeling that she was going to hear it from the Boss for letting the Princess hijack a ride to the Mountain Zone with her. She glanced over her shoulder at the girl, finding that she was looking out over the woods and into the lands beyond. It looked like a lot of flatlands – a moor, perhaps? – beyond the Forest Zone in the Light Area. It was hard to distinguish from here.

Aquilamon, despite the weight on his back, was flying a constant and steady speed, gliding smartly on updrafts so that he hardly needed to flap his wings. He kept them above the trees, and he took a route that seemed to lead them clear of other flying digimon. He had said as their trip started that most digimon in the sky lived in a Zone called the Heavens Zone – a Zone that spanned all around the Digital World, but was unaffected by the Light or Dark Areas. Most other flying digimon whose wings couldn't go as high as the Heavens Zone made their home in the Mountain Zone or someplace high up. Regardless, Wild was pleased to meet little resistance.

"What are you looking for?" Wild wondered to the Princess, wind blowing chunks of hair into her mouth.

Loaño didn't reply for a long moment. Then, she cast a sidelong glance at Wild and replied, "The last piece of the puzzle."

* * *

Yukio found that this Plains Zone was actually very boring. There was little to look at and ever littler to do. Nothing looked at all interesting or even relevant to anything that they were doing. He didn't know how Breezemon knew where she was going when it seemed she was going nowhere, but this was a game and she was artificial intelligence, after all – they were programmed to do this sort of thing.

There wasn't much here but sky and grass – that Yukio had figured out for himself very quickly upon leaving the village. He wondered if there might be items hiding within the tall grass, but he figured that if there were they wouldn't be anything of value. Nothing was of value in the beginning, really. His feet went _crunch crunch_ on the grass and he was starting to wish that he could fly, like Breezemon.

She floated just ahead of him, constantly looking around. Her eyes were sharp, he assumed – that or it was really just that easy to see something coming in this place. He figured it was both, really. He'd learned not to underestimate the skill of creatures like this.

"So…" Yukio sighed, deciding to strike up some sort of conversation. Talking to Breezemon was probably the only way to get some more details as to what was going on. "Those little digimon… are sick?"

"Yes," Breezemon replied. "Very sick. Rookie digimon have gotten sick and some survived, but no Baby digimon have survived so far."

"So what's the point in looking for a cure?" Yukio wondered. "I mean, if they're not going to survive anyway…"

Breezemon turned to him and snapped, "Because! I'm not going to watch them die!" She turned away from him and crossed her arms stubbornly. "I refuse!"

"Are they special to you? Those little digimon?" Yukio wondered.

Breezemon's arms fell and she sighed. She murmured, "Yes." She looked up at the sky and then went on a little louder, "Nyokimon is… I'm the only family she knows. I found her out in the plains when she was a Digiegg not too long ago… she hatched in my arms. I brought her to the village because I knew Swanmon could take care of her better than me, but… she thinks I'm her sister or her mother or something, and if I fail her… I'll never forgive myself."

Yukio sighed. He crossed his arms and grunted, "Well, I supposed that's as good of a reason as any."

Breezemon looked up and sighed. "The wind feels nice," she commented. "It's usually really strong, but it's a little tamer today."

Yukio grunted in response.

"You don't like talking much, do you?"

"I don't much care to talk about things that aren't important," Yukio told her blandly.

Breezemon frowned at him. "But the wind is important," she said, confusion in her tone. "Without it, everything is so still… so quiet. What a frightening world that would be to live in!"

Yukio blinked at the digimon. She seemed so innocent, so childish, so unlike himself. Not that he expected her to be the same as him – he just felt this strange connection to her that he couldn't seem to shake.

"Sorry," she sighed, sounding melancholy. "I didn't mean to offend you, Yukio. We're almost to where the Goblimon clan lives – it's not far now."

Yukio nodded and the two continued across the plains. There wasn't much to see or observe, giving Yukio plenty of time to think to himself, which he preferred. Not that he disliked Breezemon – he just didn't care to talk to her at the moment. She seemed too… chipper. She had too sunny of a disposition for him. It made him wonder if he had ever been like that in his life – he couldn't remember it.

They walked quietly onward, the only sounds being the _swish_ of the grass and the fluttering of Breezemon's wings. The sun seemed to move a little in the sky, but when Yukio looked up he couldn't tell what time it was. It'd been so long since he'd looked at the sun that it burned his eyes terribly to even glance at. He looked away, disgruntled.

_I get transported to this amazing, fantastic new world and everything I need to progress here has to be bloody _outside, he groaned to himself. _When I'm older, I'm going to write one of these games that takes place inside of a large, air-conditioned, lovely building and –_

Breezemon's gasp interrupted him. "Yukio! Look!" she breathed, pointing ahead.

Yukio jolted from his thoughts and peered ahead, finding nothing but plains. He looked closer and he understood what Breezemon was gasping about.

It looked to be a well-camouflaged campsite of some kind that had been trampled into the ground. As Yukio and Breezemon slowly approached, Yukio spotted the remains of huts and campfires amid the trampled and flattened grass. Smoke rose from the remains of some of the campfires, hinting that they had gone out not too long ago – yet they had not seen the smoke trail during their trek from the village.

The strangest thing, however, was that, amongst the rubble, were a dozen pea-green- and cream-colored eggs. Yukio stared at these in astonishment. They were all the size of his head, all of them the same shape and size and either one of the two previously mentioned colors. Some were grouped together, others scattered about the site. All of them were amidst the worst of the trampled and broken grasses, a few nearly buried beneath upturned dirt.

"Oh, no…" Breezemon whimpered. She put a hand over her mouth. "No…"

"What… what _is_ this?" Yukio said in wonder.

"Yukio… those are all Digieggs," Breezemon told him gently. She shivered in the air and went on, "Those are the Goblimon that we needed to see…"

"So they're…" Yukio trailed off.

"They're gone," Breezemon finished, sniffling. "Not dead, but gone…"

"What could do this?" Yukio wondered.

Breezemon looked about. She blinked away water from her eyes and noted, "It looks like they were attacked by something."

"A _big_ something," Yukio mused, nudging one of the huge tracks with his toe. It looked like a massive poultry bird of some kind had decided to go on a sprint through the Goblimon's camp. "Looks like something with chicken feet did this."

Breezemon wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. Yukio looked to her and wondered, "You said that it was normal for you guys to turn into Digieggs – what are you shivering about?"

"It's just so unsettling!" Breezemon whimpered. "To see all of them like this… I've never seen anything like it!"

"Well, we might as well see what happened here," Yukio told her. "You said we were looking for a Shamanmon and that these are Goblimon Digieggs, right?"

Breezemon nodded.

"So Shamanmon might still be around here somewhere," Yukio guessed. "If he is, we can still talk to him about curing those baby digimon."

Breezemon looked up at him, gratitude in her eyes. Yukio figured that if he didn't try something to cheer her up now she'd never be able to let go of all of this. It didn't really affect him much at all, but he didn't want to let her know that. He could sense that she had a more delicate personality than he did, anyway.

The breeze picked up, carrying a sound to Yukio's ears. "Hear that?" he asked.

Breezemon nodded. "Sounds like a digimon!" she exclaimed.

They were silent for a moment as they tried to discern where the noise came from. Breezemon was the one who pinned it down to a collapsed hut. Breezemon fluttered over to the hut and grasped one side with her hands. She pulled it up with all her might – something that Yukio couldn't do – to reveal someone beneath the rubble.

They were a stout, short creature, but muscular and, in Yukio's opinion, ugly. He had dark green skin and an orange-colored Mohawk. He wore little clothing, but he seemed to Yukio almost cartoony in his representation.

"Shamanmon!" Breezemon exclaimed, her pink eyes widening.

_So he did make it,_ Yukio breathed. _But he doesn't look to be in good shape._

He and Breezemon knelt down on either side of Shamanmon. Between the both of them, they were able to lift him up into a sitting position; though he was leaning more heavily on them than on himself. Yukio shivered as his skin made contact with the hurt digimon – he gripped Shamanmon a little tighter, some part of him rising up and wishing that there was something he could do.

_This is just a game,_ he thought. _When these creatures "die" they turn into Digieggs. They get reborn again. That's what Twinkle Toes said._ So if it was so simple then why was he even feeling anything for Shamanmon in his current state?

"Are you going to be OK?" Breezemon demanded, empathy in her voice.

Shamanmon groaned and coughed. He was shaking in their arms, and Yukio got the feeling that Shamanmon wasn't going to be all right.

A tear fell down Breezemon's face and she pleaded, "We… I was just looking for a cure… for the little digimon. Oh, if I'd only known!"

Shamanmon looked to her and coughed, "There is no… cure."

"Wh… what?" Breezemon sounded deflated; hollow.

"No… cure…"

"There has to be!"

Shamanmon shook his head. "Nothing digimon can do…" he said, coughing emphatically. "But a Digidestined…"

"Digidestined?" Breezemon repeated, awed.

Shamanmon nodded weakly. "Digidestined are coming…" he coughed, "soon… They will… save us…"

The digimon closed his eyes. Breezemon let out a little cry as his body was devoured by bits of what appeared to be white data, leaving a dark green Digiegg behind in Breezemon's hands.

Yukio bit his tongue. He had no idea what to say to her about this. They had come all this way… for nothing.

Breezemon held Shamanmon's egg in her arms and cradled it, tears rolling down her face. Yukio imagined that she was thinking of little Nyokimon back at the village, awaiting a cure that, according to Shamanmon, would never come.

She shook her head and insisted, "No… no! There _has_ to be a way! I'm not going to let Nyokimon die – or any of the others!"

"So… what do we do?" Yukio wondered.

"We go back," Breezemon said determinedly. "We go to the only person who could possibly help us – the Princess."

_So there's a Princess?_ Yukio thought. _Typical. She'll probably be captured and I'll have to be the one to rescue her._

"Does that mean we go to the castle?"

Breezemon nodded. She stood up and said, "Let's go! For all these digimon, and the sick ones – we have to do this!"

_Yeesh, you're chipper,_ he thought. It was bearable, but he was sure that if Breezemon got any more chipper he might be sick. He pushed himself up and stretched. "Lead the way, Twinkle Toes – I've got no other option but to follow."

"Sorry!" someone cawed.

"But you're not going anywhere!" someone else added with a voice that was equally bird-like.

Yukio and Breezemon froze, looking about. Then they spotted them – two massive bird digimon. Their white-and-red feathers stuck out in disarray and their red eyes glared down at the two of them. Their feet were so massive that Yukio realized just who they were standing in front of. A wave of unbelievable malice washed over Yukio and he felt almost sick at the feeling of it. Breezemon clutched Shamanmon's egg, glaring at the birds.

"Kokatorimon," she growled.

"You're the ones who destroyed the Goblimon!" Yukio announced, glancing at their massive feet. Their shape matched the tracks embedded into the plains.

"Yeah!" one Kokatorimon cawed.

The other Kokatorimon chimed in, "And now we're going to destroy you, too!"


	11. Episode 11

**Episode 11: Rise, Spirit of Wind – Fluttering Beauty Kazemon!**

"Wow," Wild commented, "that's quite the mess."

"Think we can fix it?" Flamemon wondered.

"I have no idea," Wild replied, sighing.

They stood at the foot of the massive gouge that took out half the mountain. Wild could sense the DigiPower of someone else here, but she couldn't gauge who it could possibly be – the color was the only thing that tipped her off to it being someone other than Aws.

She gestured to it and wondered, "What did it even look like before?"

"Like a mountain," Loaño replied dryly.

Wild threw her a look. Loaño shrugged and put her hands on her hips. "Don't look at me like that," she complained. "I was just answering you."

KiddGarurumon stepped over to the mountain and sniffed. He looked to Wild and wondered, "Don' ya know wha' mountains loo' like?"

Wild sighed again and replied, "I do – but I don't know what they're supposed to look like here." She stepped over to the mountain and went on, "I mean, your entire world is made of computer code. I can code well enough; but I have no idea what sort of code I'm working with. If I knew, it would make things a lot easier."

"Don't think of it like that!" Loaño insisted. She walked up to the empty space of the mountain and said, "Your power is Creation, which means you can make this look like however you want! Whatever it was before doesn't matter, so long as it's repaired and the digimon who lived in this part of the mountain have a home left to return to."

"Yes, but if I do it wrong it will look terrible!" Wild pointed out. "My changes will look completely out of place! It has to look like the mountain it used to be!"

"Calm down, will you?" Loaño grunted, crossing her arms. "Digimon aren't too concerned with aesthetics. Functionality is a lot more important than making something look pretty. _Pretty_ doesn't always mean it will make a good home for a digimon. There's not much to know about what this mountain used to look like – it was a pile of rock with dead trees and dead bushes and a couple of caves here and there. That's all you need to know!"

Wild flinched at the thought. She shook her head and insisted, "I can't fix it; not without knowing what it looked like before – you don't understand!"

"Wild…"

She turned to find Flamemon looking at her funny. His eyes were filled with concern. "Are… are you OK?" he asked.

Wild swallowed and adjusted her ascot. It seemed so tight around her neck. She looked up at the mountain and took a deep breath. Upon her exhale, she told him, "I'm fine… just… this is daunting."

"Yeah," Flamemon admitted, "but we can do it together." He reached out and touched her hand. He grasped it gently and squeezed it reassuringly, a small smile on his face. It was as if he knew what sort of thoughts were running through her head and just how to stop them from overtaking her rationality.

Wild nodded and breathed, "OK; let's get started." DigiPower glowed around her hands as she approached the mountain. She bent down and touched the dry, dead ground and watched as her DigiPower flooded the afflicted area. Rocks and stones began to form, growing from tiny pebbles to dark brown monoliths in seconds. They joined with one another and became one solid mass of rock and stone.

She looked up at what was happening, and then she looked to Flamemon. He smiled at her and cheered, "Its working!"

"Yeah," she murmured, looking back at the growing stones, "it is…"

* * *

"This isn't working!" Breezemon cried.

"You think?!" Yukio shouted back. "We're trying to outrun the Digital World's equivalent to an ostrich! And there are _two_ of them!"

"You don't think I know that?!" Breezemon shouted back, fuming.

"Why can't we turn and fight?" Yukio demanded.

"I'm not strong enough!" Breezemon explained. "I'm only a Rookie – they're Champion-level… and there are _two of them_ – as you so kindly pointed out!"

"We can't run forever! Can't you get stronger?"

"I need a partner for that!"

"A what?"

"A human partner!" Breezemon explained hurriedly. "I need a human partner that corresponds to me – one that carries the Spirit of Wind like I do! That's the only way I can digivolve and _maybe_ stand a chance against them!"

Yukio shouted, "Well, how do you find a partner?"

"By – _look out!"_

Breezemon tackled Yukio to the ground just as a bolt of fire exploded the ground where Yukio had been running. Four more bolts followed, enclosing them with an oblong crater. Breezemon and Yukio stood up, looking at their attackers as they slowed to a stop before them. They grinned at Yukio and Breezemon, thrilled to have caught their prey.

"Oh… crap," Yukio groaned.

* * *

"So… what am I supposed to be doing here?" Nikolai wondered. The Boss, after seeing Wild to the aviary, had led Nikolai to a separate room within the castle that contained Digieggs of all kinds and colors, all set apart from one another in separate little beds. The beds themselves looked very comfortable – Nikolai was tempted to lay down on one.

Dinohyumon's Digiegg was set apart from all the others, on a comfy-looking cushion. Strabimon stood near it, his red eyes missing nothing about the egg. The Boss walked further into the room, his cane tapping on the soft floor.

"This is the nursery," he told Nikolai and Strabimon. "Here we keep Digieggs of digimon who live here, or that have been found. It's a safe environment for them to be reborn in, and the eggs are cared for and protected by Swanmon, who are famed for their gentleness and kindness towards things smaller than themselves."

_Sounds like my mum,_ Nikolai thought. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"The corruption that afflicted all the digimon that you've faced so far as foes – aside from the Mushroomon that attacked Wild and Flamemon on their way here – have all been infected with a type of virus that cannot be removed by normal means," the Boss surmised. "What _you're_ here for, Nikolai, is so you can remove it from Dinohumon's Digiegg. See, though he was defeated, he wasn't _purified_ – the virus is embedded within the very Core data the makes up Dinohyumon, which means that when he hatches again he'll still be corrupted by it. The Core data of a digimon remains no matter how many times they are reborn, making any digimon infected with the virus who turns into a Digiegg still trapped by it."

"So you want me to purify him, like I did Golemon?"

"Yes," the Boss replied. He went on, his eyes sad, "If you don't, he'll be stuck in an endless cycle of suffering and, while he wishes with all he has to stop hurting others, he will have no choice but to do so."

Nikolai glanced at Strabimon. Strabimon blinked and murmured, "Sounds like you've dealt with this sort of thing before, Boss."

The Boss tapped his cane against the ground and insisted, "That doesn't matter right now. Nikolai, please; do this. Your DigiPower purifies the virus from digimon's Cores – you're the only one who can do this."

"I'll do it," Nikolai said, nodding. He had a feeling that the Boss was hiding something – but Nikolai knew better than to demand that he reveal all his secrets. The Boss was obviously a powerful digimon, and, according to Wild, very old. Of course he had secrets – everyone did.

Nikolai stepped towards the Digiegg and place a hand on its surface. It was cool and smooth, but Nikolai could feel the virus within. It sent shivers down his spine and made the skin of his hand prickle. Strabimon pricked his ears and laid his hand over Nikolai's. They looked up at each other and nodded.

Closing their eyes, they reached deep within themselves – finding the light that would save Dinohyumon from lifetimes of suffering.

* * *

"So, what do we do with them, brother?" one Kokatorimon wondered, his feathers ruffled as the two brothers paced around the crater they'd made around Yukio and Breezemon. "Should we eat them?"

"Of course not, brother," the other Kokatorimon chuckled darkly. "Nature digimon don't taste too good, and our objective is to kill them!"

"Kill us…" Yukio breathed. "Why?" Breezemon stood at his back. He could feel her shivering – she was afraid. Yukio wasn't afraid – this was just a game, right? He couldn't really die here…

"Because you're a Digidestined," one Kokatorimon brother snapped. "You'll ruin their plans… and if you live we'll never become the rulers of the Plains Zone!"

Yukio reached back and took Breezemon's hand in his. She stopped shivering. He felt a trill of fear that seemed to come from her. She was truly afraid of these two digimon. If this was a really a game, why were the NPC's feeling things like this? Shouldn't they know that they would succeed in defeating them?

Maybe this wasn't a game?

Yukio shook the thought from his head. What the hell else could it be? No other explanation made sense!

But something had to be done about those two Kokatorimon. Yukio took a deep breath. If this was a game, then he would live no matter what – he was a player, after all – but Breezemon…

"Let her go," Yukio insisted.

The Kokatorimon brothers looked at one another, and then laughed. One stepped nearer and demanded, "Why should we do that?"

"I'm the one you want, right?" Yukio explained. "Leave her out of this. Take me and let her go free."

"Yukio…" Breezemon began, her tone full of shaky caution.

He let go of her hand and held it up as a sign of surrender. "See? I'll come willingly – just let Twinkle Toes go without a fight."

"Fine; have it your way!" one of the brothers snapped. _"Stun Flame Shot!"_ they both cawed.

Yukio closed his eyes and prepared himself for something miraculous to happen. He could hear the roar of the flames and feel their heat as if they were inches from his face. He was completely calm; unafraid of the outcome.

A scream interrupted his thoughts. Yukio opened his eyes and looked behind him, finding that Breezemon had been turned to stone where she stood – before Yukio, her arms outstretched to protect him.

"What…" Yukio breathed. "No… Twinkle Toes…"

There was no response. Breezemon had been frozen in her place, petrified by the Kokatorimon. Even her thin, papery butterfly wings were made of thin, hard stone. Yukio was frozen, his heart pounding in his ears and lodged in his throat – this wasn't how he'd intended it to be! Even the wind had stopped with her – the plains grass was still and silent.

He glared at the Kokatorimon. "I told you to let her go!" he yelled.

"What's it matter? You'll never see her again!" the brother heckled. One grinned and joked, "Isn't it nice? A statue to commemorate your death! Maybe we'll bury what's left of you beneath it! She was a stupid digimon anyway."

Emotion flooded Yukio. He jumped the gape between him and the Kokatorimon and screamed in fury at their apathy for Breezemon's condition. Raising his fists, he reached outward to pummel his enemies into nothingness.

The Kokatorimon laughed at him and, with a thrust of their wings, sent a powerful, evil breeze that sent Yukio flying backwards. He cracked his head against Breezemon's leg, and he saw stars as pain clashed throughout his body. Blood ran down his forehead and trickled down his nose to his lips. He tasted it and shivered.

This was no game.

No game would allow this to happen to him. No virtual reality game would allow the player to really and truly _bleed_ – there would be some sort of health bar, or something. No, this _hurt._ It _really_ hurt.

This was _real._

Yukio pushed himself up, using Breezemon for balance. Dizziness flooded his vision and blurred his eyesight. He wiped the blood from his face onto his sleeve, his legs shaking at the horror of all this. He looked to Breezemon and stared into her stone face. There were tears in her eyes and down her face, but she had a set look to determination.

She had tried to protect him. To show that it wasn't a game.

"Twinkle Toes…" Yukio murmured. He reached up and touched her face. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Wind stirred his hair, and Yukio breathed it in. It was sweet-smelling and strong. It was empowering. His headache dissolved with it, carried away by the wind. A white energy surrounded the hand that was touching Breezemon's face, glowing white with green hues within.

Yukio looked back at the two Kokatorimon. The wind grew stronger, nearly pushing the two birds off their feet. It stirred Yukio's hair, but that was all it did to him despite its strength.

"_Gust – Spirit Evolution!"_ Yukio shouted.

The stone around Breezemon shattered into pieces. The wind grew stronger and surrounded her in a tornado as she shot into the air. A white light blinded them all for a split second as the gale ended, revealing a different digimon.

She was about the size of the average human female, with long purple hair that flowed in the wind. She wore a metal band that covered her eyes, accented by light green faerie wings. She wore a purple and green outfit that looked to be a combination of armor and flight clothing. Her outfit was slightly skimpy, but not incredibly revealing. More faerie wings adorned her gauntlets and garnished her boots. A pair of grand faerie wings came from her back, suspending her in the air. Wind howled all around her and she clenched her fists.

"_Kazemon!"_ she announced.

"Oh, no," the Kokatorimon said in unison.

Kazemon raised her hands and shouted, _"Brezza Petalo!"_ Ten small tornadoes sprouted from her fingertips and roared and screamed as they struck the Kokatorimon. They lifted the birds into the air and then slammed them onto the ground repeatedly, leaving them stunned and battered.

With a flutter of her wings, she streaked towards them. She landed on her feet between them and kicked her legs into the air. _"Tornado Gamba!"_ she shouted, spinning on her hands. She kicked them as she spun, faster and faster, wind gathering around her and increasing her speed until she herself was a tornado of pain and offense. The Kokatorimon were caught up in the flurry of kicks and the tornado itself, spinning them senseless.

Kazemon shot up from the eye of the tornado, allowing it to dissipate, but still letting knock around her opponents. When they finally spun to the ground, on top of one another, dizzy and depleted of their energy, she rushed at them again.

She flipped in mid-air and shouted, _"Roseo Temporale!"_

Her legs kicked them at a pace that Yukio could not even fathom. She barraged them so hard and so fast with her feet that the Kokatorimon had no time to dodge or fight back. Their bulk was no match for Kazemon's size and speed, and soon enough they dissolved into nothing but white-and-red Digieggs.

Kazemon landed between them. She smirked and flipped her hair with one hand, putting her hands on her hips afterward.

"That, Yukio," she began with a smile, "is how I find my partner."

Yukio looked at her in astonishment. Finally, he sighed and said, "Damn, Twinkle Toes – how did that even happen?"

Kazemon fluttered over to him and tapped him in the chest. "You did it, Yukio – you healed me. If you hadn't healed me, then I would have been petrified forever!"

"I… healed you?" Yukio breathed.

Kazemon nodded. "And if you can heal me, then I think you can heal the little digimon back at the village," she reasoned. "Even if you can't, you have to try. Shamanmon said that the Digidestined were the only ones who could stop the sickness – and the Kokatorimon said that you were a Digidestined. They're meanies, but they wouldn't lie."

Yukio reached up and touched his head. He pulled his fingers away to examine them – no blood. Had he somehow healed himself, too?

Kazemon took his hand in hers and pleaded, "Please – we have to try."

Yukio frowned, and then said, "Sure, Twinkle Toes – let's go back."

Kazemon smiled and laughed before she grabbed Yukio in her arms and took off into the air, giving Yukio no time to get used to the sensation of flying.

_If this is real…_ he thought as he nearly vomited, _then this is the most unreal reality that I have ever experienced…_

* * *

Wild stepped away from the mountainside. She nearly fell backwards as a wave of exhaustion crashed over her. She fell to her knees and looked up at her work.

The mountain was repaired, and it looked just about the same as the rest of the mountain. She had fixed the broken trail and smoothed out the path for the digimon who once called this part of the mountain home. There were plenty of little crevices, trees, and rocks for shelter, too. Wild looked up at it and felt accomplished.

Flamemon knelt down beside her and smiled. He said happily, "You did it, Wild!"

Wild glanced at him and smirked, telling him, "We did it together." She wasn't sure if she would have had the strength had it not been for Flamemon's assistance. Whenever it felt like she would give under the pressure, Flamemon strengthened their bond and took it onto himself. While he couldn't use her DigiPower, he could share the backlash it caused Wild.

"It looks fantastic!" Aquilamon cheered. A smile was plastered on his great big beak. "Wonderful work, Lady Wild!"

Wild, with Flamemon's help, stood. She wasn't about to rebuke Aquilamon for using formalities – she felt pretty good about herself for doing this. She had created a mountain out of nothing but excess code and her imagination. She smiled at her work and nodded.

She turned to Loaño, who was standing beside KiddGarurumon. "What now?" Wild wondered to her.

The Princess glanced Wild's way and offered, "I have somewhere to be – you take Aquilamon and go back to the castle."

"I can't just leave you," Wild insisted.

"The Boss will be very upset," Flamemon added. "I mean… he'll be upset anyway because you left in the first place, but if you don't come back with us…"

"This is important," Loaño insisted. "Trust me."

"We have no reason not to," Wild pointed out, "but the Boss is someone that I have no desire to piss off. Princess, I can't let you go off somewhere like this. You might get hurt."

Loaño looked at KiddGarurumon and then back at Wild. Pouting, she laughed, "Are you suggesting that Kidd isn't enough to protect me? Please! I'm going, Wild – and I'll be back. Don't worry. Puzzles don't put themselves together, you know."

_Puzzles…_ Wild thought. Realization flooded her and she thought on, _Oh; so that's what she's doing. The last piece of the puzzle that she mentioned before… is she going to fetch them like she did Nikolai?_

"I need to go," Loaño offered. She clambered easily onto KiddGarurumon's back. Sitting atop his broad shoulders, she looked like a small child. She waved and said, "We'll be back. Don't worry so much!"

KiddGarurumon let out a grunt and turned away from the mountains. He lumbered into the trees, and Wild, Flamemon, and Aquilamon watched him disappear into the shadows. Wild looked to Aquilamon and sighed.

"Mind taking us back?" she asked.

"Of course not, m'Lady," Aquilamon said. He bent down so that Wild and Flamemon could mount. "I'll have you back at the castle before you know it."

"Thank you," Flamemon offered. He bounded up Aquilamon's body, resting comfortably on his back. Flamemon's tail flicked from side to side as he looked down to Wild. "Coming?"

"Yeah," Wild told him. She looked back at the mountain that she had just repaired. It was such a great feat, and she had done it without too much effort. She narrowed her eyes and frowned.

_We can stop you, whoever you all are. And we will,_ she thought. _This world is not yours to destroy._


	12. Episode 12

**Episode 12: Healing Touch**

Yukio made the mistake of looking down at the ground. The Plains Zone was flying away below him, and his stomach lurched. His grip on Kazemon loosened, and she tightened in response, looking down at him, her lavender hair flowing about her face.

"What are you doing, Yukio?" she demanded, worry in her voice.

"Land, will you?" Yukio replied frantically. "I don't fly well, Twinkle Toes!"

"Well, that's nice to know _now!"_ Kazemon grunted. "We're almost back at the village. Try to hold your Unimons until then, OK?"

_Curse whichever designer decided that a _flying_ digimon would be my partner,_ Yukio thought tremulously. He adjusted his grip on Kazemon and closed his eyes, feeling the wind rush past his face and whip his hair back and forth. It stung against his skin and he felt like he was being sucked through some sort of vacuum.

Kazemon, to her credit, was right about the distance – they arrived at the digimon village within moments. Yukio opened his eyes when he felt her slow down. He looked down, finding that the ground was getting closer. Kazemon dropped him on his feet as gently as possible, but Yukio still fell to his knees, his limbs shaking. Kazemon landed just beside him, and Yukio stared at her purple shoes for the longest time before he took the hand that she stretched down to him.

Yukio pulled himself up with her help and took a deep breath. His stomach was still wobbling, and his limbs still felt like gelatin, but he was able to look Kazemon in the eye – more specifically, her visor – and exhale.

"Sorry about that," Yukio lamented. "I mean, I can fly on a plane just fine; but when it's like that I guess I freak out a little. I suppose I'll have to get used to it."

Kazemon smiled and place a hand on his shoulder. Reassurance flooded Yukio, coming from her. "Don't worry," she said, "I'll get better at it. I've never had wings this big before, you know."

"Speaking of; will you ever be… _little_ again?" Yukio wondered. He wondered if she was going to change back, or if this was like several popular monster-taming games where, once the monster evolves, they stay that way forever – or at least until they evolve again.

Kazemon's smile turned into a cheerful smirk and she answered, "Of course, silly! In the wild digimon stay in their digivolved form but my digivolutions rely on a partner – you. When you digivolve me, it gives me enough power to stay this way for a while; hopefully long enough for me to do my job."

"And that would be?" Yukio wondered.

Kazemon's smirk faded. She removed her hand from his shoulder and took a step back. She looked down at her feet and frowned, saying, "Well… I don't really know."

"You don't know?"

She shrugged. "No one ever told me," she said. "I mean, I've heard stories of Digidestined and their digimon partners doing amazing things for both the Digital and Human Worlds, but other than that I don't know much about what their specific responsibilities were. There hasn't been a Digidestined for a very long time."

_"Someone_ ought to know," Yukio pointed out. "Shouldn't they?"

Kazemon shrugged again. "The only digimon that I would imagine knowing anything is a digimon called _the Boss..."_

"_The Boss?"_ Yukio repeated.

Kazemon nodded. She told him, "He lives at the castle in the Dark Area, with the Princess. They say that he's lived since the beginning of the Digital World, and that he knows everything."

"So we go and find him," Yukio decided. _It will reassure Twinkle Toes, and maybe he knows a way for me to get out of here. I don't know how much more of this place I can take before it somehow kills me._ He didn't know if he had spare lives in this place – by the way the Kokatorimon had nearly broken his skull open, he guessed he didn't.

_But I healed myself somehow…_ he thought. _And I healed Twinkle Toes._ Petrifaction in video games was a status ailment that could make or break a fight – in most cases, at least: it would turn a character to stone. If the petrified character was hit with a physical attack they would shatter into pieces and die. It was a status effect that Yukio was wary of… and yet he healed Breezemon of it as if it were nothing.

Kazemon smiled, looking as if she were waiting for him to say that. She nodded and said, "Yeah; of course! But first…" She looked somberly over to the largest hut in the village. The entire place was as deserted as when they'd left, but Yukio sensed life in the buildings. "We need to help the Babies."

Yukio frowned, uncertain. "How are we supposed to do that? The Shamanmon said that there was no cure."

Kazemon took his hands in hers and lifted them up between them. Against his will, Yukio's hands glowed with the white-and-green flame that had come just before Breezemon had digivolved. _"This,"_ she said. "This can do it. I _know_ it can. You have some sort of power, Yukio… that's what makes you a Digidestined! You and I hold the Spirit of Wind… together we can do this. I can feel it – can't you?"

Yukio looked up at her, still feeling uncertain. There was no doubt in his mind that there was some sort of connection between himself and Kazemon – but what was it? Was it really the Spirit of Wind? What did that have to do with his apparently healing her and himself? Was that what this flame meant? Was it meant to heal?

He frowned. Somehow, he knew that she was right – and that he was, too. This power was meant to heal. Perhaps that was why Kazemon was his partner – she knew what this flame meant. She knew what it could do, even if she was unsure of it. He owed it to her not to doubt her knowledge.

Sighing, Yukio nodded to her. She seemed so determined to save the little digimon that he found he couldn't share his uncertainties. Kazemon smiled happily at him and grasped his hand tightly. She led him over to the larger hut, where Swanmon had retreated with the tiny digimon before.

"E-Even if it doesn't work…" she said as they went, "we have to try!"

Yukio and Kazemon entered the little hut through a flap of cloth. The floor of the hut was made of stamped-down grass, which created a springy surface. Crude tables made of wood lined one wall, covered in supplies that Yukio assumed were for medical purposes. Food also occupied a table, fruits and vegetables that Yukio was both familiar and unfamiliar with. Beds were scattered every which way on the floor, with mattresses made of feathers or grass or hay or leaves sandwiched between sheets of fabric. Most of the beds were empty – all but one, where the three little digimon Yukio had seen before were huddled together. Swanmon was squatting near them.

She lifted her head as Kazemon and Yukio entered. Her eyes went wide when she saw Kazemon, and she put a wing to her beak. "My dear…" she breathed. "B-Breezemon…?"

Kazemon fluttered over to Swanmon's side. She laid a hand on the motherly digimon's feathery wing and assured her, "It's me, Swanmon." She gestured to Yukio and said, "This is Yukio; my partner."

Yukio gave a polite bow. Then, he approached the baby digimon. They were smaller than he thought, not even the size of his head. One was black and goopy, with half-open yellow eyes and no mouth. Another was a red-orange jelly blob, with three tiny horns on their head and big blue eyes. The last was a black teardrop with yellow eyes and a sapling growing out of its head. He imagined that, if they were healthy, they would be very cute to look at.

"Did you… did you find anything?" Swanmon wondered.

Kazemon shook her head. "We went to find Shamanmon, but two Kokatorimon defeated him and his clan," she explained. "But… Yukio might be able to help."

"H-How?" Swanmon wondered, shivering.

"He's a Digidestined!" Kazemon insisted with a big smile.

Swanmon let out a fretful noise. She looked down at the little digimon and laid her wing against each one. She looked back up at Kazemon and said, "Dear… unless he can work miracles, these little Babies aren't going to make it – not by any means I can see."

"What are their names?" Yukio wondered. Though he would forget them, he felt like he should at least hear them.

"The black one is Botamon," Swanmon said, gesturing to each one. "The orange is Punimon. The seedling is Nyokimon."

_So the seedling digimon is the one that looks up to Twinkle Toes as a sister,_ Yukio thought. He was unsure of what he could really do to help them, but he looked Swanmon in the eye and said, "I'll do what I can."

He knelt down beside the bed and laid a hand on the Botamon. A coldness infiltrated his body from the contact, so cold that it felt like he had stuck his hand inside of a freezer. Yukio pulled away, his heart pounding. The chill worked its way through his body, ending with the ghost of an evil laugh in his ears.

_What was that?_ He thought.

Yukio laid his hand back against Botamon, making sure to be gentle. The chill entered his body again, but this time he didn't flinch away. He closed his eyes and concentrated as best he could on the feelings that had shattered the stone that had been around Kazemon. He took a deep breath and exhaled, and the room rang with the sound of wind.

_"So you have come to interfere as well,"_ a sinister voice whispered in his ear. _"You are the final Digidestined."_

_Who… who is this talking to me?_ Yukio thought. He had no idea whether or not to respond.

_"Who else am I but the one orchestrating the demise of the Digital World; the world that was rightfully mine?"_ they said with a sneer.

_You can hear my thoughts,_ Yukio surmised.

_"Yes…"_ they _hiss_ed. _"Every last one of them… Yukio…"_

_You are the one killing these digimon then,_ Yukio decided. _You're the cloaked person that Kazemon mentioned._

_"No, I am not. I am neither man or woman, Yukio… I am neither human or digimon. The one who caused this was a servant of mine; someone who wields a portion of my power to do my bidding."_

_Then what are you?_

_"Your worst nightmare!"_

The voice fled him then, and it suddenly felt like Yukio was being stabbed by a thousand icicles from the inside out. Yukio let out a groan of pain, his whole body shaking. Whatever this disease was, it was fighting for control over Botamon's health. It was like Yukio was standing before a great gate, one that loomed over him and was so tall that its top was shrouded by dark clouds.

Then a hand was laid on his shoulder. A refreshing breeze blew through him, clearing the clouds and bringing the sun to a dying land. Grass and trees and flowers began to grow and sway with the wind. A river broke through the gate, opening it. The wind stirred that, too, moving it along its streambed.

Suddenly, the entire area broke into millions of zeroes and ones. They flashed and flickered before his eyes before he was suddenly forced to open his eyes. He pulled away from Botamon, his eyes wide and his heart threatening to break out of his chest.

"Yukio…" Kazemon breathed. She knelt over him and said, "You did it. You healed Botamon!"

Yukio, dazed, sat up with her help. He looked at Botamon as the little digimon opened his eyes fully. Their eyes met, and Botamon let out a happy cry. It bounded out of its bed and bounced until it landed on Yukio's chest, where it bounced happily.

"By Yggdrasil…" Swanmon murmured. "He really did it…"

"H-He's all better?" Yukio gasped. _I went through all that just to save a little digimon's life? Was that even remotely worth it?_

"Hurry, Yukio!" Kazemon insisted. "Help the others – _hurry!_ I'm right with you!"

Yukio sat up, Botamon bouncing off of him. He leaned over Punimon and Nyokimon, placing one hand on each. He closed his eyes and felt the chills entering his body. However, the voice failed to reach him – or was it done talking to him? He felt the darkness and the shadows clouding his senses again – and then he felt the breeze pushing it all away.

When he opened his eyes he fell backwards, into the arms of a small digimon. Yukio pushed himself up onto his knees to find that Kazemon had returned to her previous form – the little imp child with the pink eyes. She looked a little weaker than before – had she helped him? Yukio got the feeling that she had, somehow. That the breeze had been her; that, without his newfound partner, he wouldn't have been able to help these little digimon.

_"Breezemon!"_

Breezemon was suddenly struck by Nyokimon. Surprisingly, the little digimon tackled Breezemon to the packed ground and began bouncing all over her. Punimon leaped at Yukio, knocking him back as well, and Botamon began his bouncing on Yukio again, this time with Punimon by his side.

Their bouncing didn't hurt at all, but for some reason Yukio began feeling the strangest thing blooming inside of him. He wasn't sure what it was, but it made him smile.

A gasp from Swanmon stopped the festivities. Breezemon collected Nyokimon in her arms and sat up. She jabbed Yukio in the arm with one of her fingers and breathed, "Get up! Look!"

Punimon and Botamon bounced off of him and onto the ground. Yukio watched as they scrunched up their tiny bodies, shrinking. Was this some sort of foe? Yukio looked to Breezemon. She was on her knees, her head bowed. Nyokimon sat beneath her, the little sapling on her head touching the ground. Swanmon was also bowing, her wings spread.

Yukio swallowed and sat up. He looked behind him.

"Whoa…" he breathed. _Another human…_

She was short and skinny, with a small stature – but the way she held herself showed Yukio that she was so much more than that. She wore simple clothes, no shoes. Her blonde hair was down, framing her face. Her silver eyes, possibly the most definitive feature of her, gleamed with light that wasn't there.

"Are you Yukio, holder of the Spirit of Wind?" she asked.

Yukio nodded.

She smiled at him and said, "I am Loaño – the Princess of the Digital Twilight. I'd like you and your partner to come with me."

Yukio looked up at her, astonished. A _human_ was the Princess? This was so strange – he was expecting a very regal-looking digimon of come kind, not a girl that looked to be so much younger than him!

"Go…" he began. "Go where?"

The Princess's smile grew wider, and mischief gleamed in her eye. With that same smile, she said, "On an adventure, of course – what else?"

* * *

"Sin is going to be _so_ pissed when she finds out about this!" Zen sang into Aws's ear. Aws cringed at the sound of his voice, jumping a little. He looked back angrily at Zen, annoyed. Zen gave him a massive, annoying smile in return.

"The Plains Zone was _her_ problem," Aws growled. "It was _her_ responsibility to take care of it and make sure that no one interfered."

"Aw, but you know she couldn't be here today," Zen sighed. "She had important things to do, you know."

"I would think that this takes precedence over whatever the hell _she_ thought was more important," Aws returned. "The Master will be furious with her."

"A minor setback," Zen scoffed. "You know Sin; she'll have the silly little digimon of the Plains Zone back to suffering in no time! And then maybe she can take our Zones too so we can hang out more!"

Aws curled his lip at the thought. Him, hang out with Zen? The only thing that annoyed him more was – wait; Aws couldn't think of anything that annoyed him more than Zen. He turned back to his comrade and stated, "You know; we haven't exactly been doing our best with the Zones we've been assigned, either. The Master is like to be angry at all of us!"

Zen rolled his eyes. "Don't be so stiff, Aws," he sighed. He grasped Aws by the shoulders and shook him back and forth a few times, making Aws significantly dizzy. "Loosen up!"

Aws shook himself and pulled violently away from Zen. He turned his back on his comrade and growled, "Aren't you the least bit upset that that Digidestined bitch rebuilt all that you destroyed?"

Zen shrugged behind him and replied, "I can always Ruin more; I'm much better at Ruining than she is at Creating – I'll soon be able to Ruin more than she can ever fix. I've got my situation under control. What about you?"

"It seems to me that Nikolai can only remove my Corruption through physical contact," Aws confessed. "If that's true, then I should be able to squash him flat with no problems at all. And quickly, too. The Master said that there would be three of them who would come to the Digital World to oppose us – if we defeat one of them that breaks the chain."

"What about the Princess?"

"The Master said that it has plans for her," Aws answered. "Not sure what, but I'm curious. It probably has something to do with that digimon he's got locked up in the cells. She's no ordinary human – then again, neither are the Digidestined. She's part of the Master's plan; just what part, though, I don't know."

Zen walked up behind Aws and wrapped his arms around the other boy's shoulders. He slapped Aws in the chest and said with a chipper tone, "So let's eat, drink, and be merry until we're told to do something! And sing! We should sing, too~!"

Aws pushed himself away from Zen once again, a headache building in the back of his head. He looked back at Zen and shook his head at the silly green-haired boy. _If there's any singing to be done,_ Aws thought, _it should consist of the cries of mercy from our enemies as we crush them…_

* * *

Nikolai breathed a sigh of relief. With Strabimon's help, he had been able to remove the virus from Dinohyumon's Digiegg. Afterward, a Swanmon had led him out of the nursery and back to the Boss's solar. When they arrived, Nikolai promptly sat himself down on the couch and leaned back, feeling drained.

"Thanks for the help," he offered to Strabimon.

"No problem," Strabimon replied. The lithe digimon leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms.

Nikolai frowned and then asked knowingly, "Worried about the Mountain Zone?"

"Of course," Strabimon returned. "It's my home. I'd hate to see it get destroyed by Zen. I hope they encountered no problems while they were fixing it up."

"Yeah," Nikolai sighed. He ran a hand through his dark, curly hair and went on, "Man, I didn't expect all this to happen when I woke up this morning. Usually Mondays are a pain in the ass back home in the Human World."

Strabimon grunted. "It's much the same here – there are good days and back days," he offered. "This has been one of the worse days, in my opinion."

"But hey – we met, didn't we? Isn't that a plus?"

"It is; but I'm more concerned about the other digimon than I am about making friends," Strabimon pointed out. "I don't want to think of all the other digimon that are being hurt by Zen and his comrades. I want to stop them before they get too far ahead."

"I know what you mean, Strabimon," Nikolai sighed, putting his arms up and his hands behind his head. "Let's wait until Wild comes back – then we can meet up with the Princess and figure out what to do from here."

"And you must apologize for your upsetting the Princess," Strabimon insisted. "Royalty doesn't take too kindly to being insulted."

"Yeah, I know," Nikolai breathed. He sighed again and added, "I guess I should watch what I say around her, huh?"

"Always guard your tongue around her," Strabimon advised. "If you happen to offend her, her guardian might not like it."

Nikolai shivered at the thought of having to face KiddGarurumon in any kind of combat. Such a fearsome foe! He swallowed, then looked to Strabimon. He pointed out, "Yeah; but I don't want to censor myself around her – she doesn't seem like the type who's easily offended anyway. Besides, she's…"

"She's what?" Strabimon wondered, raising an eyebrow.

Nikolai flushed and shrugged, saying, "I don't know. I just… I can't do that, Strabimon. I'll be careful with what I say; but not to the point of me not being myself."

Strabimon frowned, then offered, "I suppose that makes sense. Speaking of the Princess, though…" He craned his neck and sniffed the air. "Shouldn't she still be here? I haven't seen or sensed any sign of her since we left the nursery."

"Yeah; you'd think she'd stay in here, in case one of us came back," Nikolai agreed. _Strange; the Boss told her to stay here. Of course… that didn't stop her from coming to help me, I guess. She doesn't seem all that fond of listening to orders._

Nikolai sighed for what seemed like the tenth time and offered, "I hope she's not in any sort of trouble."

"That makes two of us," someone announced.

Nikolai and Strabimon looked up at their new guests. "Wild!" Nikolai called. "You're back!"

Wild put her hands on her hips and nodded. Flamemon yawned and sat down on the couch beside Nikolai, who stood to give the digimon room to stretch. Soon enough Flamemon was asleep. Nikolai looked up at Wild.

"He worked himself pretty hard to help me fix the mountain," Wild explained. "He deserves to nap for a bit."

"So it's been repaired?" Strabimon wondered, his red eyes wide and searching, full of hope and worry for his home.

Wild nodded. She added, "It might not be completely to my liking, but it's livable. Digimon were already moving back into their homes when Flamemon and I left on Aquilamon."

"Just you and Flamemon?" Nikolai repeated. "Not the Princess? Where is she?"

"Yes… it's something that we just thought of before you arrived," Strabimon put in.

"She's not here?" Wild asked.

Both Nikolai and Strabimon shook their heads.

Wild frowned. She sighed and said, "I can't say that she's in trouble… but she took off just as Flamemon and I finished working on the mountainside. She headed off into the Forest Zone, towards the Light Area."

Strabimon narrowed his eyes. "That would put her in the Plains Zone," he decided. "Why would she go there?"

"KiddGarurumon went with her," Wild explained. "She said that there was something she needed to do there."

"Great; the Boss is _really _going to like hearing this one," Strabimon complained.

"I know, I know," Wild told them. "I tried to get her to stay, but she wouldn't."

"She could be in trouble!" Nikolai insisted.

"Hold it, Nikolai," Wild decided cool-headedly. "Let's not get off track here. She said that she would be back soon. If she gets into trouble she has KiddGarurumon to protect her. Let's not doubt him. I'll go tell the Boss what happened – it's my fault for letting her go, so I'll take the blame. You guys just stay here."

Wild allowed no room for discussion. She walked out of the room, shutting the door firmly behind her. Nikolai and Strabimon listened to her footsteps disappearing down the hallway. Nikolai clenched his fist.

"I don't like this," he decided. "Something's weird."

"I agree," Strabimon said, frowning. "I can feel the shadows lengthening. I know what darkness feels like, Nikolai… whatever is going on feels much worse than that… and the Princess and the Boss have something to do with it that they either know nothing about or aren't telling us."

"Should we look for her?" Nikolai wondered. Part of him wanted to find the Princess before anything terrible happened to her.

"No; Wild's right," Strabimon decided. He pushed himself off the wall and stood beside Nikolai. He placed a hand on his human partner's shoulder and went on, "We need to trust KiddGarurumon to protect her if need be. For now, we wait."


	13. Episode 13

**Episode 13: Rounded Out**

"So Yukio," Loaño began, "how do you like the Digital World so far?"

Yukio looked up at her, craning his neck to see. The digimon she introduced as KiddGarurumon, her guardian and partner, was so tall that if Yukio looked at the wrong angle, he could see right up the Princess's pants. He focused instead on her face as she looked down at him, her silver eyes glowing despite her face being shadowed from her head covering the sun.

"It's… odd," was all Yukio found himself capable of replying. "I've certainly never been placed in an environment like this… and I honestly don't care much for the sun."

Loaño laughed at that. She snorted and wondered, "Don't you have a sun in the Human World?"

"We do," Yukio replied, "but I make a point of not being present beneath its rays all that often, Your Highness."

Loaño stuck out her tongue and scoffed, "Don't call me that. Just call me Loaño – or Lo. I don't really care much for all those formalities."

Unfortunately, Yukio's mind had a lack of interest when it came to recalling anyone's name but his own, so he immediately forgot the Princess's name for the second time. From the sound of it, though, it was definitely not Japanese – though she spoke the language very well, her name indicated that perhaps her origins didn't lay within the islands of the rising sun. It sounded Italian.

"Very well, Hime-chan," Yukio replied.

Loaño frowned and leaned on KiddGarurumon's head. "Names are hard for you, aren't they?" she asked.

"Yes," Yukio replied.

"Well, then it's going to suck for you," she went on. "Where we're going, there are a lot of people with names to remember."

"Ummm… Princess…" Breezemon asked, fluttering beside Yukio, "Where _are_ you taking us?"

"We're going to the castle," Loaño replied. "You know, so you can meet the other Digidestined."

"So there are more?" Yukio wondered.

Loaño nodded. "An interesting group, they are," she said. "But I think you'll fit in just fine."

Yukio looked forward. They had left the Plains Zone what felt like hours ago and entered a shady forest area that Loaño had introduced as a place called, obviously, the Forest Zone. The trees behind them were visibly brighter than the ones before them now, making Yukio think that they were in a darker part of the Digital World. The atmosphere felt less light than it had before around here. Yukio automatically put himself on guard.

"Hime-chan," Yukio began, "just how many Digidestined are there?"

"There have been a lot of Digidestined," Loaño replied. "In the past it varied based on the peril that the Digital and Human Worlds were put into. Judging by how many Digidestined there are now, this is either a small problem that doesn't require much attention or it's a _big_ problem."

"How many are there this time?"

"Including you? Three," Loaño said with a strange smile playing on her lips. KiddGarurumon grunted beneath her, narrowing his icy eyes for some reason. His tail flicked back and forth, as if he sensed something strange in the air. "What I mean by it being a _big_ problem is that you each have a special power – something that no Digidestined has ever been gifted with before. I guess that means you'll have to use that power to save the Digital World from… whatever it is that's trying to destroy it."

Yukio frowned. He closed his eyes and thought of the feeling that he'd gotten when he healed the little digimon. The voice that had entered his mind and taunted him with such a sinister, malicious tone. He wondered if he should share this information with the Princess.

_Perhaps I'll wait until we arrive at this castle,_ he thought. _Maybe my new teammates will want to hear of this…_ The idea of working with others made him cringe on the inside, but that seemed to be how the Digital World operated. He had this power, but it seemed to be that he wouldn't be able to use it without Breezemon nearby. As much as he wished he was alone in this vast, strange world… in order to survive, he needed her.

"So… is Solarion always this silent?" Yukio wondered, glancing at KiddGarurumon.

The great beast stopped walking. Yukio followed suit, staying a few steps ahead. Loaño smirked and looked down at KiddGarurumon. She patted his head and laughed, _"Solarion,_ eh?"

KiddGarurumon curled his lip and growled, "Who the 'ell is _Solarion?"_

* * *

"Well, the Boss is _definitely_ not happy," Wild announced, shutting the door to the solar as she walked in. She crossed her arms and looked at Nikolai, adding, "Expect yelling as soon as she gets back."

Nikolai sighed and rolled his olive-colored eyes. "I really think this is the wrong time for rebellion," he groaned.

Wild shrugged. "I've literally known the Princess for about ten hours – Digital World time that is – and this comes as no surprise to me," she reported. "After all, she did disobey orders to find Flamemon and I. Perhaps she's gone off to find another Digidestined?"

"Maybe," Nikolai mused. "What do we do until then? Sit here and chat?"

Wild shrugged. "I don't know much about you, you don't know much about me – we could take care of some of that," she suggested.

"Oh, OK," Nikolai said, nodding. He seemed in agreement.

Wild walked over to the couch and sat down, moving Flamemon's legs into her lap. The digimon shifted, but didn't wake – he rolled onto his side to find a better position. Wild sighed and rolled her eyes at him. She wondered how long he'd sleep – but she figured at the first sign of something occurring he'd be wide awake. She glanced over to Strabimon and found that he seemed to be meditating in the corner, sitting with his legs crossed and eyes closed. His breathing was even and it would have suggested that he was asleep, but Wild assumed that he was very deep in thought.

"Well," Nikolai began, leaning against the side of the Boss's desk, "I'm obviously not from Japan…"

"Your accent betrays that," Wild pointed out. "What part of Europe are you from?"

"London," Nikolai answered.

"You speak Japanese quite well," Wild said, commending him. Usually foreigners had trouble with the language, even after living in the country for a few years. Nikolai seemed to have picked up more than enough of the basics, along with some of the more advanced grammar. He didn't speak like a native – his accent showed that he obviously wasn't from here – but his speaking was impeccable.

"I've actually been to Japan before," Nikolai admitted, "a long, long time ago, when I was little. My dad had to work on some sort of project here – he was gone a lot. Eventually we moved back to London, though – only after a year and a half or so. We moved back here for a change of pace… plus, my Mum got a job here as a reporter for some news station in the city."

"Ah," Wild said, nodding. "That makes sense."

"So, that's about the gist of how I ended up here. How about you?"

"I was born here," Wild stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, yeah," Nikolai scoffed, _"duh;_ I _knew_ that. I meant… you know, stuff about you."

"What kind of stuff?"

Nikolai shrugged. "I don't know; why do people call you _Wild_ instead of your name?" Nikolai asked.

Wild frowned and pointed out, "That's kind of a long story."

"We've got time."

Wild sighed and opened her mouth. Before she could output words, however, the door was very alarmingly busted open. Flamemon jolted awake with the sound, spitting some flame out from the surprise. Strabimon broke out of his meditative state to observe the happenings, his red eyes filled with annoyance. Wild and Nikolai stared at the door as it hit the wall and began to swing backward, thanks to momentum.

"Hey," the Princess announced, walking into the room. "Hope we didn't interrupt anything?"

"N-No…" Nikolai breathed. "But holy fuck – if you're going to come in here you could just knock!"

"Where's the fun in that?" Loaño wondered, frowning.

"Princess!" Flamemon cried happily, his green eyes shining. "You're OK!"

"Of course I am!" Loaño replied, laughing. "Why wouldn't I be? If you guys keep doubting Kidd like this, you're going to make him angry."

"Wherever did you go?" Strabimon demanded coolly, despite having his meditation disturbed.

"To the Plains Zone," Loaño explained. She walked further into the room and gestured, saying, "There was someone I needed to pick up. Everyone, meet the last Digidestined – Yukio!"

With a grunt, he walked into the room. He was taller than Wild and Nikolai, with short, light red hair, green eyes, and a slender figure. Fragile-looking glasses rested on his nose. He wore a black duster jacket with a red shirt beneath it, displaying some sort of video game art. His jeans were tight, held onto his frame by a black belt. White gloves covered his hands, as if he were afraid of touching something he didn't like. He regarded them all coolly, with a sense of apathy that made Wild cringe a little.

Behind him fluttered a digimon that looked similar to Strabimon and Flamemon in appearance. She wasn't much bigger than either of them, with feathery lavender hair with many shades of purple. She wore light pink and purple armor, with black claws on her hands and feet that slightly resembled birds' claws. A scarf covered most of her face, but her pink eyes were clearly visible.

"Wow…" she breathed. "Yukio… those are other Spirits…"

Yukio only grunted.

Wild stood up and walked over to him, holding out her hands. "Welcome," she offered. "I'm Tatsuya Namekura – most everyone calls me Wild, though."

"Wild…" Yukio repeated. He didn't take the hand, and Wild lowered her arm.

With a confused frown, she gestured to Flamemon and said, "This is my partner, Flamemon."

"Nikolai Miles," Nikolai offered from across the room, seeing Yukio's attitude towards Wild's welcoming gesture. "My partner's Strabimon, sitting over there." Strabimon stood and offered a bow.

"This is Twinkle Toes," Yukio said, following suit and gesturing to the pink digimon.

She frowned at him and sighed, shaking her head. She fluttered forward and extended her hand to Flamemon. "I'm Breezemon – Yukio's silly and doesn't like to remember names, so he seems to make up little nicknames instead."

Flamemon took her hand and shook, smiling. "That's OK!" he said cheerfully.

Wild looked to the Princess and said accusingly, "You're in a lot of trouble."

Loaño shrugged and said, "So? If I didn't go and get him, he would have gotten stuck in the Plains Zone for a long time. Kidd's explaining the situation to the Boss right now. He'll understand. Getting the Digidestined together is more important than obeying some silly orders. Now that you're all here, we can finally get moving on figuring out what's going on!"

Wild frowned and realized that she was right. At least they were all together now. Yukio was a stranger, yes; but he was one of them. Wild crossed her arms and nodded, conceding, "All right."

"So I assume you're the leader?" Yukio asked, raising an eyebrow to Wild.

"Me?" Wild asked, slightly shocked.

"Yes," Yukio replied, slightly irritated. He didn't seem to want to talk so much. "Weren't you the first one here? At least, according to Hime-chan?"

"Well, yes… I don't see how that makes me the leader, though," Wild pointed out. "If that's what you all think I am then I suppose I might as well be – I kind of don't want to be the leader, but we do need one." She hooked a finger in her ascot and began tugging at it, betraying her nerves.

"Fine with me," Nikolai threw in. "It seems right."

"Fine," Wild decided, sighing.

"Awesome!" Loaño cheered. She slapped Wild on the back so hard that Wild nearly fell face-first into Yukio's torso – which was a feat from someone with such a small build. "So Wild is the leader! Sweet! So, what do we do now, leader?"

Wild recovered, regaining her balance on her own two feet. She frowned and said, "Fuck if I know – just because I got nominated to be leader doesn't mean plans just pop into my head without any effort. We have no idea what we're dealing with – all we know is that Aws, Zen, and some other people are screwing with the Digital World and that we have to stop them. We don't know why."

"They're working for someone," Yukio announced.

"Hm?" they all said at once, looking at Yukio.

"When I was in the Plains Zone," Yukio began, "I used my… power… to heal a few little digimon from this sickness that would have killed them otherwise. I heard this voice, coming from some sort of being. It said that it had given a portion of its power to someone in order to cause the disease to spark in the area. If that's true, then these others must be working for this thing."

"Wow," Wild admitted, "that's actually pretty helpful."

Yukio only shrugged in response.

"Did it sound… sort of distorted? Like someone was using some sort of device to alter the voice?" Nikolai wondered, his eyes narrowed in thought.

Yukio simply nodded. Wild sensed that he was a man of few words – at least, he preferred to be.

"I heard something like that too, when I used my power to Purify Golemon," Nikolai announced. "It started to taunt me and mock me… saying mean things and the like."

"Could it be the same voice?" Wild wondered.

"I reckon so," Nikolai decided. "Who else could it be?"

"Then that must be who Zen, Aws, and whoever it is that messed with the Plains Zone are working for," Wild surmised. She put her hands on her hips and sighed. She turned and asked the Princess, "Is there any way to figure out exactly who it is?"

Loaño shook her head. "There are plenty of evil digimon here," she answered, "but none that I know of who can invade someone's thoughts. That's something else entirely – digimon can't do that."

"People can't do that, either," Nikolai added.

"Well, it's neither of those," Yukio promised. "It told me that much. It also revealed that it knows who we are – at least, I assume this because it knew my name. It must know all of yours as well."

"So we're dealing with some sort of entity that is neither human nor digimon, and it can somehow invade our minds and give DigiPower to humans," Wild summarized. She tugged at her ascot again. "Damn… if I knew more about how this place was structured, I could figure out exactly what we're dealing with here. Instead, I can only assume that it's some sort of virus."

Loaño flinched, looking pale. "A… virus…" she repeated. Her tone was strange – it had no fear in it, but there was something else. Something… something more. She shook her head and held it between her hands. "No… it can't be… not again. It couldn't have… I…"

"Loaño?" Nikolai wondered, stepping towards her. He tentatively laid a hand on her shoulder.

The Princess shivered at the contact and suddenly it seemed as if her entire body gave way as soon as Nikolai's hand touched her. Nikolai caught her as she fell, scrambling to not allow her to fall to the ground. Face flushed and red, he looked up at the others in shock.

"Princess!" Flamemon shouted, his eyes wide with alarm. Breezemon let out a little cry and floated up into the air. Strabimon's red eyes widened a little, but he didn't betray himself.

"What the hell? Hime-chan?" Yukio asked, his tone slightly calmer. He knelt down before her and took her wrist into his hand. He pressed his fingers against her and sighed. He looked up at the others and offered, "She's alive."

"What was this about?" Wild wondered. "I mentioned a virus and she suddenly faints? This doesn't make sense."

"Did you hear what she was saying before she fainted, though?" Yukio asked.

"Something about… _not again…"_ Nikolai repeated. He would have scratched his head if he wasn't holding the Princess in his arms.

Yukio frowned. "Something's not right about this," he decided, more to himself than to the others. "She sounded so… _different."_

"Like someone else was talking for her," Wild finished. Yukio looked at her, an eyebrow raised. "That's happened before. Sometimes she'll speak in a manner that's completely different than how she talks normally."

"Maybe it's because she lives here," Nikolai suggested. "I mean, she's lived in the Digital World her whole life… living in a cyber world is bound to make a non-cyber person act differently."

Wild shook her head. "I don't know… but we should get her to an infirmary of some kind," she said. "Maybe the Boss has more of an explanation about this."

"I doubt it," Nikolai put in. He picked up the Princess as if she weighed nothing, holding her in his arms carefully. Her head lolled and rested on his chest, and Nikolai couldn't help but blush at that. "The Boss is hiding something – I know it. He _knows_ something about all this. I think the only way we can figure out what's really going on is if we talk to him and make him spill it."

"Good luck with that," Flamemon offered. "The Boss is the most powerful digimon in the Dark Area. If there's something he doesn't want you to know, you'll have a hard time getting him to reveal it."

"However, I believe he's right," Wild decided. "The Boss said that he has eyes everywhere – that he can monitor anything and everything in the Digital World if he wants. He _must_ know something. Yukio and I will talk to him and see what we can find. You and Strabimon take care of the Princess."

Nikolai nodded and offered, "Good luck."

He left the solar, taking the Princess with him. Strabimon followed behind, his ears pricked. When Wild, Yukio, and their partners were alone in the solar, Wild turned to the newest Digidestined.

"Come on," she said, "time for you to meet the Boss."

Yukio nodded and offered, "Lead the way, Wild."

* * *

"I won't stand for this, Kidd! You're her _partner_ – her bodyguard! You're supposed to make sure that she's safe!" the Boss exclaimed.

The sound of his shouting scared the digimon away from the courtyard. KiddGarurumon, to his credit, didn't flinch at the Boss's outburst. He crossed his hands behind his back and grunted.

"We foun' the las' Digidestined," KiddGarurumon growled. "Ain' that importan'?"

"Of course it is!" the Boss agreed. "But I could have sent Wild, or Nikolai, or someone else!" He stepped close to KiddGarurumon and growled, "I trust you, Kidd, I _do_ – but I cannot risk losing her like we lost her brother."

The fur on KiddGarurumon's shoulders ruffled at the sound of that. He bared his teeth and snarled, "I woul' _never_ le' 'at happen."

"My point, Kidd, is that we can't risk it anymore," the Boss sighed. He leaned against his cane. "I've lived since the moment this Digital World was created. I've seen this world change and seen countless Digidestined save it. I do _not_ want a repeat of what happened last time. I know you don't either."

KiddGarurumon let out a non-commental grunt at that. It didn't need to be said that he would protect Loaño with his life.

"She doesn't leave the castle without one of the Digidestined," the Boss decided.

"But -"

"That's it," the Boss snapped. He whipped his cane forward. The very base of the cane touched KiddGarurumon's nose without hurting him. "It's for her own safety. Kidd, you were responsible for the _both_ of them and…"

"Wha' 'appened wasn't my fault," KiddGarurumon reminded him. It was true, but it didn't mean that it didn't tear KiddGarurumon up inside to think about it.

"Now he's in _their_ hands," the Boss finished. "He asked me to protect his brother… he asked _you_ to protect them both. We both failed in that regard, and now Lucemon is lost to them. I will not fail again – not with Loaño. I cannot allow her to fall into its hands. KiddGarurumon, you _do_ know what will happen if she does, do you not?"

"I do," KiddGarurumon promised.

The Boss lowered his cane to the ground. He turned his back on KiddGarurumon and sighed, saying, "That girl… she is the only thing standing between it and the goal that it failed to achieve last time. I cannot let them down… or they would have lost their lives for nothing."

"We gotta fin' Lucemon," KiddGarurumon pointed out, after a moment of pause in respect for those that the Boss was speaking of.

"We will," the Boss promised. "Soon. For now, we must focus on making sure that these Digidestined work together as a team. They haven't been here long, but I'd like them to get acquainted and I'd like to meet the newest for myself. Then I will send them home."

"But…"

"They need to go home soon," the Boss told him. "They have lives beyond this – parents and friends. If they stay for too much longer, their absence in the Human World will be noticed. A few hours at a time is good… but when those hours turn to days and those days to weeks, they will be missed."

"Righ'," KiddGarurumon sighed. "Will ya send their partners wit' 'em?"

"Not this time," the Boss told him. "Digimon aren't invading the Human World yet. It would cause unnecessary panic."

KiddGarurumon nodded. He opened his mouth to say more, but a piercing sound erupted in his ears. He bent over a little, growling in pain as something like a bullet rocketed through his head. The sensation lasted but a moment, and when it was done KiddGarurumon was panting.

"What is it?" the Boss wondered.

"Somethin's happened ta the pup," KiddGarurumon barked.

"Take care of it," the Boss ordered. "And hurry. I'll deal with everything else."

KiddGarurumon nodded and rushed off, pushing some of the returning digimon out of his way. The Boss sighed and leaned on his cane, feeling something awful brewing inside of him. He looked up and found that Wild and Yukio, the newest Digidestined, along with their partners, were making their way towards him.

The Boss straightened himself up and prepared himself for what he predicted would come next. He glanced at Wild and thought, _Oh Henshu… if she and the others cannot succeed… then everything that you and the others worked for… everything that you and the others _died_ for…_

_It will all be for nothing…_


	14. Episode 14

**Episode 14: Defend Her, Shining Armored Warrior Lobomon!**

Loaño opened her eyes to find herself in a room. The room was small, meant for a child – and decorated with pastels and printouts of animals plastered to the walls. The light fixture above was like nothing she had seen before – the lights in the Boss's castle came from flames and candles – it seemed to emit light without flame. It was dim, giving the room a quiet feel. Something like a dresser was in one corner, covered in things that she had never seen before. On the other end of the room, near a window with a closed curtain, was what appeared to be some sort of bed. It was walled in with bars, as if it were trying to keep something from getting out.

She walked towards it, curious. The top of the object wasn't barred like the rest of it, but yet it looked like some sort of cage. Inside was a mattress and blankets, along with stuffed likenesses of animals that Loaño had only seen in the Boss's books – something called a _bear,_ and a _dog._

Loaño reached into the strange object and touched the mattress, finding it firm and harder than she'd like. She reached over and touched the blankets – they were a contrast that surprised her. They were incredibly soft, almost like the down of a Poromon. The stuffed creatures were like that, too – soft, and something about them made her want to hold them tightly in her arms.

Frowning, she stepped away from the object and its contents. She had read many books about the Human World thanks to the Boss, but she hadn't seen or read anything about this. She assumed that she was in the Human World, though, from the structure of the building. It wasn't made of anything crude or natural, it seemed. It was too… perfect.

She sighed and wondered aloud, "Why was I brought here?"

Loaño waited expectantly for an answer. She put her hands to her hips and grunted, dissatisfied.

"Oh, come on," she growled, sighing again. "You brought me here. Can't you at least tell me why?"

Loaño crossed her arms and walked around the room. She stopped before the window and threw open the curtains. It was a beautiful evening sky – night and day converging with one another, day lending control over to night. It created a lovely lavender hue in the sky, just above the trees.

"This is about what they said, isn't it?" Loaño asked aloud. "About the virus being the cause of everything?"

Someone appeared on the ground outside. Loaño looked down at him. She nodded and decided, "So it is."

_It really is nothing,_ the figure replied, his voice calm. It echoed through her mind, flooding her with serenity. Loaño closed her eyes and drank it in. _I was… surprised._

"To the point of making me pass out?"

_Hearing that suggestion come up wasn't something I was expecting._

"So what does that mean? Is Wild right?"

_Yes…_ he replied, _and no._

"What's that supposed to mean?"

_Little one, it's really not anything you should be concerned with. I'm sorry for dragging you down with me,_ he offered.

Loaño opened her eyes. He was still there, outside. She gripped the curtains tightly and said, "Are you sure? You can tell me, you know…"

_I won't trouble you with it, little one,_ he insisted. _Close your eyes… it's time for you to wake up._

She nodded and obeyed. When she closed her eyes, warmth passed through her. She relaxed completely and sank into the sensation, allowing it to carry her off her feet.

* * *

Nikolai stared at Loaño as she lay on top of the sheets. He had taken her to the nursery, where the Swanmon there directed him towards the infirmary, which was attached to the nursery thanks to a door. They had placed the Princess on a bed, telling him that she was merely unconscious and that she would awaken soon. They left him to watch her, leaving orders to alert one of them when she awakened.

_She seems so… small…_ he thought. While she was unconscious, she seemed meek and little – things that her personality definitely were not. She wasn't any older than him, but she seemed almost… way too young. Not that she seemed childish, but just… young. How could such a small girl lead these digimon?

"Any idea as to why she passed out?" Strabimon wondered, crossing his arms.

"No," Nikolai replied. "She was just jabbering about something and suddenly she's out."

"I know that, Nikolai," Strabimon said dryly. "I was there."

He shook his head. "Something about this isn't right – the moment that Wild mentions a virus, the Princess passes out. Is there something we're missing here?"

"We're made of computer data, Nikolai," Strabimon reminded him. "A virus of any kind could seriously mess with us – think of Aws's Corruption. A virus with enough power and on a big enough scale could level our world."

"Don't you guys have stuff preventing things like that?" Nikolai wondered.

Strabimon nodded, "We do. But viruses are like digimon – they are evolving constantly to suit the nature of their environment. One could have slipped through our defenses. It's not completely unheard of."

Nikolai sighed. He admitted, "I'm not really good with all this computer stuff. I mean, I operate one better than my Mum, but… I'm definitely not Wild."

"Oh?"

"We go to school together," Nikolai explained. "We didn't know each other before this, but the other students talk to each other and things get passed around. Wild's apparently the best computer person around – she codes like nobody's business, she can get things that cost way too much money for free, and she can hack into nearly anything. If any of that's true, it's crazy."

Strabimon flicked an ear. "So it would make sense for her to suggest a virus," he mused. "But she may know so much about computers and technology from the outside… She's never been inside of a computer. Not until now."

"True," Nikolai agreed. "She still seems to be taking things really well. Yukio, too. Don't know much about him, but I figured at least one of us would have had a major freak-out by now. This place feels too… _normal_ for me to freak out about it."

"But this is your first time here," Strabimon reasoned. "How can any of this feel normal?"

"I don't know," Nikolai said, sighing. He leaned back in the chair. The room around him was white, like hospitals in the Human World. It was bare but for the bed, a table, and a few chairs for visitors to sit on. The only difference between this infirmary and a hospital in the Human World was that there weren't any pieces of complicated medical equipment anywhere. No heart monitors, no x-ray machines, nothing. Nikolai assumed that digimon had the power to do most of those things themselves, so they didn't really need equipment like that.

"It's because you're crazy."

Nikolai looked to the Princess and found that she was awake. She smirked at him and sat up slowly, placing her head in one of her hands. She closed her eyes and complained, "My head hurts…"

"It would hurt worse if I'd let you fall instead of catching you," Nikolai pointed out.

"Ah… thanks, I guess," Loaño breathed. She yawned and stretched. When she was done, she offered, "Sorry about that."

"No problem," Nikolai assured her. "Didn't expect you to pass out, but it wasn't any issue."

Loaño lay back down on the bed. She looked at him and bit her lip, as if she were unsure of what to say. Nikolai flushed and looked away from her, his eyes desperately seeking something else to look at. They found Strabimon.

"Strabimon, could you go get one of the Swanmon?" he asked quickly. "Tell them that she's awake?"

Strabimon raised an eyebrow and looked between the both of them. He grunted, flicked his ears, and then left the room, shutting the door politely behind him, leaving the two of them alone together.

"He seems stiff," Loaño commented.

"Y-Yeah," Nikolai agreed. "But he's not so bad."

Loaño chuckled at that. "Of course he's not – he's your partner," she told him. "You may behave differently, but you can't help but accept them. They say that a human's digimon partner represents something about the human themselves – something they're missing, or repressing, or something like that."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Loaño said, nodding. "The relationship between a human and their digimon partner is different than any other paired relationship is because of that. You grow and evolve together… that's what happens."

"Wow," Nikolai breathed. "Didn't think that there was so much to it."

Loaño smirked and told him, "It might sound hard, but it really isn't."

Nikolai glanced at her. Their eyes met for one brief moment, and what Nikolai saw there made him blush. He got the sense that, though they barely knew each other, she considered him trustworthy – a friend.

Loaño broke the contact by blinking and asking, "Are you OK? Your face is getting red. Is it supposed to do that?"

Nikolai coughed and forced himself to look away. _Damn it, Nikolai, _he curse to himself, _get a hold of yourself. You barely know her!_

He was about to apologize for himself when the door opened. Straibmon entered, followed by a Swanmon. She was carrying a tray of various fruits and vegetables and a small loaf of bread, along with two glasses of water. She set the tray down before Loaño and looked up at her, smiling.

"For you, Your Highness dear," she said.

"Oh, wow," Loaño said, gaping at all the food. "Thanks! I can't possibly eat all this, though."

"It's for your friends, too," Swanmon assured her. "Now, how are you feeling?"

Loaño picked up a fruit that appeared to be a cross between a pear and an apple and bit into it. Blue juice gushed out and she wiped her lips off on her sleeve as she chewed. She swallowed and said, her teeth slightly blue, "I have a headache, but that's all. I feel fine otherwise; like I've taken a nap!"

Swanmon let out a cute chuckle and said, "Well, the water is filled with nutrients that should abolish that headache quickly, Your Highness dear. Eat up and enjoy!"

"Thanks!" Loaño said emphatically. The Swanmon bowed and left the room. Loaño picked up another of the fruits and tossed it to Nikolai. "Try it!"

Nikolai caught the fruit and examined it. It looked strange, but it was obviously safe for human consumption, and he was a little hungry. He took a bite and found it surprisingly tangy, like an orange. He licked the juice off his lips and then chuckled, asking, _"Your Highness dear?"_

Loaño rolled her eyes and explained, "Swanmon always call their patients _dear."_ She took another bite, this one a bit cleaner, and then took a gulp of the water, draining half the glass.

_Wow, she's got an appetite,_ Nikolai decided, watching her eat. He bit into the fruit again, chewing and swallowing carefully. He had no idea if he was allergic to anything they served here or not. Having an allergic reaction without the proper antidote was a scary idea.

He watched her pick up the bread and tear a large piece off of it. She gave it a sniff, then bit into it carefully. She chewed once, twice, and then said, "You know… the only problem there is with Swanmon baking things…"

She reached into her mouth and pulled out a large white feather. Nikolai's eyes widened at the size of it, and the fact that it fit in her mouth in the first place.

Loaño sighed, finishing, "… is that they occasionally get feathers in the batter."

Nikolai snickered at that. Loaño swallowed and joined in, the two of them laughing about the feather in the bread for a few minutes. Strabimon even added a chuckle to it, closing his eyes and smirking.

A noise outside stopped their laughter. Something _crash_ed loudly to the ground, and the sound of a birds' _squak_ing invaded the hearing of those in the room. A chill went down Nikolai's spine, and static sounds filled his ears. He shook his head and looked to Strabimon.

"I feel it too – prepare yourself," Strabimon warned him. His claws looked sharper than they had a moment ago, and the fur covering him was bristling.

The door was suddenly thrust open, sent so hard into the wall it was attached to that the doorknob was embedded into it. Something _whizz_ed right past Nikolai and Strabimon, heading straight for the Princess.

Before it could strike, her arm darted before her in a wide arc. Black and white flame followed, creating a barrier between the projectile and the Princess. The projectile struck the shield and _clatter_ed to the floor, useless.

"It's an arrow," Nikolai breathed, after a moment.

Loaño, panting, lowered her arm and the shield disappeared. She looked outside the room and then nodded. She offered, "There's your archer."

_Asking her how she did that comes later,_ Nikolai decided. He looked to Strabimon. Their eyes met, and the shock left him. _Right now we need to protect her, because I don't think she can do that again…_

Nikolai stood up and looked out the door, just in time for another arrow to nearly hit him in the face. He ducked away just in time. This one proved to have been aimed at him, as it landed nowhere near the Princess in the room.

"That's a Nohemon," Strabimon explained. "The puppet part is the one shooting…"

"There's more than one part to it?" Nikolai wondered.

Strabimon nodded. "There's a stuffed crow, too," he explained. "The crow is the one controlling the puppet. It's an Armor level digimon so I don't know how long I can hold it off… probably long enough for the Swanmon to get the patients out of here."

"It's after you," Nikolai realized, looking to the Princess.

"Of course it is," she panted. "That's why it tried to shoot me in the head. I have DigiPower, yes; but I can't do much else with it anymore – Kidd's not here. I don't know where he is, but he's not here. Without him, my DigiPower isn't worth much."

Nikolai nodded and promised, "We'll protect you." He looked to Strabimon and said, "Let's go!"

Strabimon nodded and slipped out of the room to face Nohemon. Nikolai slipped out with him, finding that the infirmary was pretty much empty. The Swanmon must have gone to find other digimon who could take care of their enemy.

Nohemon stood in the middle of the infirmary lobby, his bow trained on the Princess's room. Nikolai shifted his position to block his aim. Nohemon was a scarecrow, possibly not much taller than Nikolai, with a few of his seams broken and a quiver around his waist. He wore a patchwork green tunic and tan pants, with a red scarf that trailed the ground. A stuffed crow flew about his head, _caw_ing incessantly.

Nikolai blinked at the digimon and realized, _It looks like Link. Link is trying to skewer the Princess with arrows… something about that seems wrong._

"Attack it," Nikolai ordered Strabimon. "I have your back!"

Strabimon nodded and dashed towards Nohemon, his nails glowing with light. _"Licht Nagel!"_ he shouted as he got closer.

He made to slice Nohemon, but the scarecrow dodged him nimbly. Strabimon growled and kept at it, slicing and dicing at the air left behind by Nohemon as the latter digimon dodged and weaved.

Nikolai trained his eye on the crow flying up above them.

"You've got to stop the crow," Loaño insisted. She was suddenly beside him, pointing up at the bird. "So long as it's still flapping, the scarecrow will still attack!"

"Shouldn't you be in there?" Nikolai demanded, gesturing back towards the recovery room.

"Don't worry about me," Loaño told him. "Worry about your enemy – do I look like your enemy to you?"

"No!"

"Then hit the damn bird!"

Nikolai looked around for something suitable to strike down a flying bird. He found a few empty pots that once contained flowers, some brooms, blankets, a few carts, empty trays, fruits of all kinds, and so many other things scattered about on the floor. He picked up one of the empty pots, finding it to be lighter than he thought.

He aimed ahead of the bird as it flew towards the ceiling and _caw_ed. He tossed the pot. He missed, the pot shattering against the ceiling. The shards, however, brought the crow down a few feet, nearer to their level.

Nikolai turned to Loaño to cheer, but was interrupted by Strabimon being flung into the wall nearest him. He slumped to the ground, leaving a lean, skinny impression of himself in the wall. Nikolai was immediately by his partner's side, helping him up.

"You all right?" he asked desperately.

"Fine," Strabimon nodded, spitting out what looked like blood. "Just kill that crow!"

Nikolai nodded and let him go. Strabimon was wobbly, but he flung himself back at the scarecrow with reckless abandon and a wild savagery that was a contrast to his normal personality. The scarecrow dodged him again and again, leaving Strabimon to attack constantly.

Loaño picked up a fruit that looked something like a coconut and tossed it at the crow. She missed, too, but it was enough to throw the bird off of its flight path. Nikolai rushed up and grabbed another of the hard-shelled fruits and tossed it at the bird as it struggled ot regain its height.

_THWACK!_

The fruit struck true, sending the bird to the ground. The scarecrow faltered in his steps, allowing Strabimon to tear him open with his claws, spilling straw everywhere. The scarecrow fell limply to the ground and lay there, still and unmoving.

That is, until the crow got up.

"I… I think we pissed it off," Loaño offered.

"You think?!" Nikolai gaped.

The crow let out a fearsome _caw_ and snapped, "You'll pay for that!"

It folded its wings near its body and dove straight for Nikolai and Loaño. Nikolai dove before Loaño and called for Strabimon, but his call was unheard as the scarecrow got up and grabbed his partner digimon around the throat. The scarecrow lifted Strabimon up and tightened his grip. Nikolai could feel his partner's pain – a tightening in his throat, like he was being choked.

Nikolai threw his arms out before Loaño, shielding her from the crow. Just before the crow struck, Nikolai felt Loaño wrap her arms around him and tighten her grip, hugging him close. The embrace was enough for something to awaken within him. A bright light shone forth from inside, spilling out everywhere. His hands blazed with DigiPower, and Strabimon began to shine.

_"Glow – Spirit Evolution!"_

* * *

"Hee hee," Boogeymon giggled. The bulbous red demon chuckled, holding his pitchfork with a huge grin. He watched the Swanmon and their patients flee the infirmary. "I'll have the Princess in no time, and then that reward is mine! I can't wait!"

"Rewar' eh?" KiddGarurumon growled, stalking up behind Boogeymon. "Rewar' fer wha', eh?"

"Capturing the Princess, of course!" Boogeymon responded, without looking behind to see who was waiting there. "I've been promised a nice fat reward, and Nohemon was the perfect fool to sucker into doing it for me – hee hee heeee!"

KiddGarurumon rolled his eyes and tapped Boogeymon on the shoulder. The red demon digimon, still giggling, looked back and then gasped.

_"Knockout Punch,_" KiddGarurumon growled, cranking his arm back.

Boogeymon didn't get a chance to strike back. KiddGarurumon hit him hard and true, point-blank, and all that was left of Boogeymon was a red-and-black spotted Digiegg. Kidd picked it up off the ground and growled to himself.

"No one threaten's ta take ou' my pup," he growled. "No' wit'out me 'round…"

* * *

Strabimon broke free of Nohemon's grip and was lost in a sea of light. Nikolai closed his eyes to prevent being blinded. He could feel something shift and change within his partner, and he could feel it change within himself, too. All that he saw became light – even with his eyes closed.

_"__Str_abimon Spirit Evolve to… Lobomon!"

Nikolai opened his eyes to find that the light had cleared. Nohemon, both scarecrow and crow, had been knocked away by the force of it. In Strabimon's place stood a humanoid warrior clad in white–and-purple armor. Stripes like those on KiddGarurumon covered his armor in the purple color. The armor made the man look something like a wolf. A scarf, patterned like the fur of KiddGarurumon, though with purple stripes, was tied around his neck, the tail ends dragging the ground. Attached to his wrists were what appeared to be cannons. Spiky blonde hair came from beneath his wolf's head helmet, and blue eyes glared out at his enemies.

Lobomon, quicker than lightning, pulled two laser swords, one for each hand, from his waist. "Let's go," he growled.

The crow of Nohemon _caw_ed, "Get him – _William's Arrow!"_ The scarecrow half of Nohemon produced his bow and notched several arrows. He began firing repeatedly at Lobomon, attempting to chink his armor. Lobomon, however, maneuvered his swords so that they blocked all the projectiles.

Eventually Nohemon ran out of arrows. Lobomon smiled and rushed forward, shouting, _"Licht Sieger!"_

With his swords drawn, Lobomon lunged and struck Nohemon, slicing the scarecrow in two. It disappeared in a flame of data, leaving nothing behind. Lobomon turned to the crow, who was frantically beginning to fly away, and lifted his left wrist. The cannon attached began to glow until a little orb of light appeared at the end of its barrel.

_"__Li_cht Kugel!" Lobomon growled.

The blast was released, striking the crow and turning it into a dark purple Digiegg. It hit the ground with a _thunk_.

Nikolai looked up at Lobomn and breathed, "Whoa…"

Lobomon sheathed his swords and smirked at Nikolai. He offered only that as he began picking up some of the debris from Nohemon's attack. Nikolai looked back at Loaño, then to Lobomon, and then back to Loaño.

"Did… did I do that?" he breathed.

Loaño nodded. "Yep, you did," she answered. She gave him a clap on the shoulder and said happily, "Congratulations – you digivolved. Now let's clean this mess up."

* * *

"So they're resorting to other methods…" the Boss sighed. He leaned against his cane and felt strangely woozy. "Great."

"So wha' do we do now, eh?" KiddGarurumon wondered. "If'n they're sendin' assassin's af'er my pup, she ain' gonna be safe 'ere."

"I can't send her to the Human World," the Boss insisted. "Not yet. She's safe here – what happened today will _not_ happen again. The others protected her… but don't you see Kidd? If she were alone, she would be in their hands already!"

KiddGarurumon grunted and said, "I ain' never said 'at I don' see yer poin', Boss…" He tapped Boogeymon's Digiegg and sighed. He looked up at the Boss and asked, "So… wha' did Wild an' Yukio want?"

"They wanted to ask me questions," the Boss replied. "Thankfully, the incident in the infirmary caught their attention and I was able to send them off. They're helping with the repairs. Kidd, do you know how much it irks me that this happened in my own castle?"

"I 'magine it irks ya quite a bit," KiddGarurumon mused.

"It's irks me quite a _lot,"_ the Boss growled. "I won't stand for this. I don't know how it happened, but it's not happening again." He slammed the bottom of his cane into the ground. "That is that. We should send the Digidestined home before things get worse. They need a break."

KiddGarurumon nodded. He crossed his arms over his broad chest and said, "So… ya 'ink 'ey got a shot at endin' this – once an' fer all?"

The Boss sighed contemplatively. "If they work hard and fight hard, then yes," he answered. "If they falter, though… if they slip up… then the Digital World could very well be lost."


	15. Episode 15

**Episode 15: Bad News**

Everyone joined in to help fix the ruined infirmary. The damage wasn't extreme, but it was extensive enough for the Swanmon to have to move their patients to another room of the castle. Grabbing brooms, the Digidestined humans swept the debris off the floor and into a pile to be disposed of. It was mainly the lobby that had been wrecked as a result of Lobomon and Nohemon's fighting – most all of the rooms were intact. The ones that weren't were only a little bit messy, and that mess was cleaned up quickly.

The Swanmon were extremely grateful for the help, especially in the places where they couldn't reach. KiddGarurumon and Lobomon helped in that regard, being taller than the stout birds. The Boss helped as well, using his strange power to fix broken lamps and effortlessly reorganize the papers that littered the floor. With a _snap_ of his fingers, Wild wagered that he could have restored the whole infirmary to its original condition – she assumed that, since everyone was working together, he didn't want to spoil it.

Finally, after about an hour of cleaning, the Boss tapped his cane against the floor and called, "That's enough for you, Digidestined. The Swanmon can take it from here."

Wild, Yukio, and Nikolai turned their attention to the Boss, their partners following suit. Lobomon placed a pile of papers on a counter and frowned. He closed his eyes and, in a flash of bright light, returned to his previous form, Strabimon. Strabimon stepped to Nikolai's side, his red eyes flashing.

"Come to my solar with me," the Boss decided. "We have something to discuss." He looked to Loaño and beckoned, "Princess; you too."

Loaño sighed and laid her broom against a wall. She joined the others in their group as they followed the Boss out of the infirmary. KiddGarurumon rumbled his apologies and went along as well, following behind them all, as if he were keeping watch. After what just happened, Wild didn't blame him for feeling a little less secure about his partner's safety.

"What's this about?" Yukio said cordially, yet with a sense of demand behind his tone.

"You'll see," the Boss replied. "Now, follow me."

The Boss led them up the winding path to his solar. Yukio seemed to pay little attention to his surroundings, Wild noted, as if he assumed he would be there again and again and didn't need to. The walk seemed a bit longer this time, making Wild wonder what it was the Boss was wondering about. Was he offended that she and Yukio had come to him demanding answers to their questions? It didn't seem so.

They entered the solar without complaint and the Boss was the last inside, holding the door open for everyone rather generously. He closed it behind him as he entered. Wild looked about the room, getting the feeling that it had expanded somehow to accommodate all of them – the room they had been in before wouldn't have held this many people and digimon at the same time… and yet it was the same room as it had been before. Wild attributed this to whatever power the Boss possessed.

The Boss walked over to his desk and sat down in the plush chair behind it. He looked out over all of them and sighed.

"I'm sending you back to the Human World," he announced.

"Really?" Wild replied.

"What?" Nikolai gaped. "But… there's so much more to do here! We've got to stop these guys before they-"

"I admire your eagerness, Nikolai," the Boss said, interrupting, "but you three must go back to where you belong. You cannot remain in the Digital World longer than necessary, or else you risk your presence being missed back in the Human World."

"He has a point," Wild mused. "With the wonky way that time works in this world compared to our own, if we mistakenly stay too long here we might end up becoming the next face on the milk cartons in our own world."

"But we'd have to stay for _weeks_ for that to happen," Nikolai pointed out. "You said that a few hours here only equals half a minute!"

"I haven't gotten the scale of time quite right yet," Wild admitted. "I'm working with estimates, not hard numbers."

"Either way, the Boss is right – we don't want to risk being missed," Yukio put in.

"Why can't we go?" Breezemon wondered. She fluttered into the air. Wild noted that she seemed to dislike her feet touching the ground. "Won't they need us?"

"There is no true threat to the Human World yet," the Boss told them. "For now, I'd like to avoid causing a panic amongst the humans. Flamemon, Strabimon, and you too, Breezemon, will remain here in my castle while your partners return home. They have duties there as much as they do here."

"But…" Flamemon protested, "We wouldn't be trouble! We'd blend right in!"

Yukio grunted and commented, "Perhaps if you posed as short cosplayers, yes; but that simply won't work. Not all humans are dumb."

"You need to stay here, Flamemon; this is your home," Wild told him evenly.

"But I don't want you to go, Wild!" Flamemon cried. He wrapped his arms around Wild and squeezed tightly. For such a small creature, he had quite a bit of strength – he squeezed the breath right out of Wild as he lifted her off her feet.

"Flamemon," the Boss sighed. "Get a grip, will you? They'll come back."

"They will?" Flamemon repeated. He dropped Wild onto her feet. He turned to her and asked, "You will?"

Wild swallowed, got her breath back, and then nodded, promising, "We'll come back to help, Flamemon."

Flamemon threw her a look of complete and utter gratitude. There was something extremely cute about the look, and it made Wild smile back at him. She stood up straight and patted him on the head. "Don't worry," she told him. "We'll be fine."

"What happens if you need us?" Yukio wondered. "How will we get back here?"

Loaño coughed and replied, "I can pull you in through any device that will connect to… oh, what's it called…?"

"The Internet?" Nikolai guessed.

"Yeah – that," Loaño confirmed. She nodded and then said, "Sorry; I've only read about it. But I can make a portal from your world to ours using that… and any device that connects to it."

"Well, that explains how we got here through our computers," Yukio sighed. He stuffed his hands into his jacket's pockets. "You were the one who brought us here?"

Loaño froze. She blinked, and then said, "Well, not necessarily. I helped – let's just leave it at that for now."

"So you can send us back?" Nikolai asked.

Loaño nodded. "I can create a portal that will send you back to the place that you left from."

_So it isn't just computers,_ Wild decided. _Things like iPhones or my Android can take us here, too. So long as it connects to the Internet… The Internet is the bridge between the two worlds, it seems - which is odd considering that I found absolutely no information on the Internet about this place. I wonder if I can design an app that would allow me to get here without bothering Loaño… and whoever she was helping…_ Her brain began to organize the code it would take to do that. It would require knowledge of how this world was coded, but that could be easily overcome if she could just examine the coding for herself… _I can build a skeleton out of 4.1 Jelly Bean and some C++ and see where to go from there…_

"Wild, whatcha thinking about?" Flamemon wondered.

Wild blinked out of her thoughts and looked at him. "Huh?" she asked. "What do you want?"

"You were staring off into space," Yukio pointed out.

"Looked like something important was on your mind," Flamemon noted. "You OK?"

Wild shook her head and logged her thoughts away for later. "I'm fine," she insisted. "Don't worry. Just got lost in thought, that's all."

Flamemon blinked at her, as if he understood what she was thinking about. He didn't reveal it, though. He took her hand in his and mumbled, "I'll miss you…"

Wild smirked and promised, "I'll miss you too… but we'll see each other soon." She knew it wouldn't feel like "soon" to Flamemon, thanks to how time worked between the worlds, but she felt it was the only way to reassure him.

"We should probably work out a way to contact each other," Nikolai pointed out. "So that we can meet up in the Human World. Wild and I go to the same school, but what about you, Yukio?"

Yukio frowned and reached into his jacket. He pulled out a pen and a notepad. He flipped to a presumably empty page in the notebook and scribbled something. He ripped it and handed it to Nikolai. "My cell phone number and my e-mail; in case you need to get a hold of me."

"Ah, thanks," Nikolai decided. "Do you want ours?"

Yukio shook his head. "I'll wait for you to contact me," he stated. "I'm not fond of making too many outside calls… and I'm on my computer more often than not. I'll know if someone unfamiliar contacts me."

"Well… now that that's been taken care of…" the Boss sighed. "Are you ready to go back?"

The three humans looked to one another, then back at the Boss. They all nodded in unison. The Boss looked to Loaño and gave her a small nod. Loaño sighed and closed her eyes, extending her hand towards an empty part of the solar.

The black portal formed, green data floating around it. A cool breeze of air conditioning hit them all, bringing the smells of the places that they had been taken from to them. Loaño, looking drained, stepped away and offered, "Thank you – all of you. What you did… it was great of you to help when you could have easily refused. Till next we meet." She gave a bow to them.

"It's not all that scary," Wild promised, crossing her arms at the boys when they looked at the portal apprehensively. "Just close your eyes. It's kind of like being on a rollercoaster."

Yukio nodded and turned to Breezemon. He offered, "Good bye," before walking up to the portal and stepping through. He disappeared in the sea of black and green data, swallowed by it. Wild could only assume that he would be spat out in his computer chair, like she had been.

Breezemon sighed, crossing her arms over her body. "Hmph! How callous of him!" she scoffed. However, looking into her pink eyes, it was clear that she was worried for her partner and that she would miss him.

"We have to go, too," Nikolai said to Strabimon. The lithe digimon blinked at his partner and smirked.

"Don't worry; I'll be right here when you return," Strabimon promised. Nikolai smiled and held up his hand. Strabimon took it and they grinned at each other. Nikolai let go and walked over before the portal. Strabimon put his hands on his hips and observed, all the evidence of that one moment of boyishness gone.

Nikolai looked over at the Princess and opened his mouth to say something. He obviously thought better of it and only nodded his good bye to her before closing his eyes and stepping through. He, too, disappeared in a manner similar to Yukio.

Wild's watching was interrupted by a tugging on her skirt. She looked to find Flamemon as the culprit. His face looked sad, but his green eyes were full of understanding. Wild smiled at him and sent to him a wordless promise that she would be back to help restore the Digital World.

She turned and stepped through the portal, swept up in the blackness that would send her home.

* * *

Both Wild and Nikolai, when they opened their eyes, found themselves in their school's computer lab once again – the place where they had entered the Digital World from. They were sitting in chairs beside one another, the computer which they had used to enter before Nikolai. It displayed the log-in screen that it normally did upon startup.

"Check the time," Wild groaned, her body still adjusting to being so suddenly cast out of the Digital World.

Nikolai reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, an iPhone 3GS with a large crack across the screen, and turned it on. It booted up and he unlocked his phone with a few touches and flicks, and he announced, "It's just before next period. Lunch just ended."

"Right," Wild breathed. She pushed herself out of her chair and stretched. "I'd better be getting home, then."

"Home?" Nikolai asked. "We still have half a day of school left!"

Wild shook her head. "I was on my way home when I came in here. Not much time has passed since then. I need to get home and figure a few things out."

"They're not going to just let you go," Nikolai pointed out. "As much as I feel like going home and passing out – especially after all that Digital World stuff – I'm not going to avoid school."

"I have something I need to do," Wild told him sternly. "Try to stop me if you want, but I need to do it before I drive myself crazy." _I'm not going to let you stop me._

Nikolai grimaced and offered, "Fine. Sorry about that; I know how you feel. My head's spinning from all this – I doubt Yukio's any better. It's a lot to take in…"

Wild nodded in understanding. "I've only been in the Digital World once before now," she said, "and it's very disorienting. I felt like a whole chunk of the day was gone, but it hadn't even been thirty seconds since the message popped up. I was lucky that it happened on a weekend."

Nikolai reached into his other pocket and found the paper that Yukio had used to write down his information. He flicked on his iPhone and copied it into his contacts list. He looked up at her and asked, "What's your number?"

Wild raised an eyebrow.

"So I can contact you if I have to," Nikolai went on. "We see each other at school and stuff, but what if this happens at home?"

Wild acknowledged his point and recited the phone number that was attached to her Android. Nikolai copied it down into his phone and opened his mouth to give her his, but Wild stopped him.

"I don't carry my phone on me," Wild told him. "Not during school, anyway."

Nikolai looked surprised. "I thought you would – doesn't everyone?" he asked. "I thought _you_ of all people would have your phone on you… for, you know, shenanigans."

"It's against the rules," Wild reminded him. "Besides, if I were to cause any trouble with the technical system in this school I wouldn't use my phone. It's traceable."

Nikolai patted down his pockets in search of a pencil, but it seemed that they only contained his phone, the paper Yukio gave him, some pocket change, and what sounded like keys to his house or his car. He stood up from his chair and walked over to the main desk in the room, where the teacher would sit when there was a whole class in the room, and found a pencil. He returned and scribbled down his phone number onto the page, just below Yukio's. He handed the paper to her.

"I doubt you need my e-mail," he told her.

Wild smirked and took it, stuffing it into her skirt pocket. "No… if I need it, your phone number is enough to find it," she told him.

"Scary," Nikolai admitted, "but useful, I suppose."

Wild shrugged, "I've always been interested in computers and technology; I just decided to take my education a few steps further than what's normally been taught in schools."

"Well, good on you," Nikolai expressed. He looked up at the clock and admitted, stuffing his iPhone back into his pocket, "I'd better get to class before I'm missed. See ya, I suppose."

Wild nodded and watched him go. He disappeared into the hallway, slipping into a large crowd of students that were on their way to their next class. Wild's ears twitched at their chattering. She grimaced, shut off the monitor on the computer that had taken them to the Digital World, and then left the room, going opposite the flow of traffic caused by the students.

* * *

Getting a ride home from her mother wasn't hard. Wild had entered the office and asked politely to use the phone, and they allowed it. She called her mother up at her house and explained that she wasn't feeling her best and would like to rest. Her mother had complied without complaint and arrived around ten minutes later. In ten more minutes, Wild was all clear to leave school, and was in the car with her mother beside her in the driver's seat.

Oha Namekura was a weary-looking woman – all who laid eyes on her in the past ten years understood immediately that she had been through a terrible, life-altering experience. Though, what that was, not many outside the Namekura family knew. She was still a very fair woman, despite running quickly into her later forties. Her hair was lighter than Wild's, a pretty auburn that had a slight red tint to it. She wore a white tank top and khaki shorts, with tennis shoes clogged with dirt. Wild assumed that her mother had been gardening when she'd called. Her skin was lightly tanned, suggesting she'd been outside quite a lot since spring arrived.

They drove on in silence for a few minutes. Wild didn't live incredibly far from her school – just far enough away that walking wasn't an option. Oha took the quieter back roads, rather than going through the city's main thoroughfares and getting stuck in midday traffic, which made the drive a little longer.

Wild and her mother refrained from speaking for the most part, aside from Wild explaining briefly her reason for heading home early. No mention of the Digital World was made – though Wild did intend on telling Meg when she next saw her friend – and Wild kept things incredibly simple by saying that something was "on her mind." That phrase alone was enough to convince Oha that her daughter's reasoning for wanting to go home was sound.

Oha reached for the radio and _click_ed it on, turning the volume down immediately so that they could just barely hear the music. Wild couldn't identify the song, mostly because she didn't listen to radio music. However, she knew what the action meant.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Oha's voice had always been quiet and nonforceful, but in the past ten years her tone seemed to be getting more and more like that to the point where she just sounded plain depressed. Wild figured this was understandable – everyone handled things differently – but she wished that her mother's voice had a little more… _emotion_ to it.

"There… there was a call… from the University," Oha said quite quietly, her voice just above the _hum_ of the radio.

Wild stiffened and felt her stomach knot up. "The University" meant The University of Tokyo, one of the top thirty Universities in Japan… and the place where Wild's brother, Toushi, had begun studying medicine three years ago. Twenty-three was an odd age to go to college, but Toushi had had his reasons for waiting.

"Toushi… Toushi is coming to visit… this weekend," Oha told her. "He… he said that… that he had a little break… and he wanted to come before… before July. Before he… finished up the year."

Shivers went down Wild's spine and she suddenly felt like throwing up. She forced it back, though, throwing her arms over her stomach as if she could contain the horrible feelings. _Of all the bad news I could possible receive, this is the worst!_ She thought tumultuously.

"I… I wanted to tell you beforehand," Oha went on, not meeting Wild's eyes, "so that… it wasn't a… surprise."

Wild dug her nails into the flesh of her arm so hard that a little blood began to ooze out. In a tight voice, she managed, "I'll be staying at Meg's this weekend."

Oha didn't feign her surprise. In fact, she wasn't surprised at all. Since Toushi left home to go to the University, Wild had avoided him at all costs, even to the point of once running away while Toushi was home. What hurt Oha most was the fact that Toushi hadn't even bothered to go look for her, nor did he even seem to care. It turned out that Wild had run to her only friend – Meg – and was staying with her. Since then, it had become a sort of expectation that, when Toushi arrived home, Wild would not be there… and vice versa.

"Tatsuya…" Oha began. She wished there was a way to talk Wild out of it, but she knew it was impossible. "I… see."

Oha pulled into the driveway of their two-story home and Wild immediately grabbed her things and got out of the car. Oha remained in the car for a few more minutes, her eyes watering. A single tear came out and rolled down her face, landing in her lap, leaving a little wet spot there.

_Henshu…_ she thought, _oh Henshu… why did our family have to become so lost…?_


	16. Episode 16

**Episode 16: Sleepover**

"Just throw your shit wherever – you know the drill," Meg droned. "Dad's bringing up the air mattress for you."

"Ah, thanks," Wild replied. She placed her backpack full of things at the foot of Meg's bed, where she had always placed it. Meg's room was nothing spectacular – in fact, Wild was sure that the only reason she could see the floor right now was because Meg knew she was coming and she would need a place to sleep. Her room had a carpeted floor with Meg's bed up against one wall. A television was prominent against the opposite, and there was a computer chair and desk flush next to the window, a laptop resting on top of it.

Wild gripped her tech suitcase a bit more tightly. She didn't even really need to bring it, but she preferred to use her own machines rather than borrow someone else's. She even hated using school computers, mostly because of all the restrictions placed on them. If she had her way, she would use her laptop at school rather than their machines, but it wasn't allowed.

"How's your machine?" she asked. "No viruses?"

"Nope," Meg said, sighing. "Whatever you did to it last time must have worked pretty damn well."

Wild smirked at that. The two of them had met three years ago, when Meg first arrived in Japan from New Zealand. Her mother, an architect and interior designer, had gotten a request to plan for some buildings here in Japan, so the Bourke family – Meg, her parents, and her little brother Jimmy – relocated. Meg's older sister, Allison, remained in New Zealand simply because her job demanded it.

Meg's introduction to Japanese culture – and their high schools – had been interesting, mostly because Wild had been there for the majority of it. Moving from one culture to an entirely different one was a strange thing for a person to endure, really. Meg had been doing fine – getting by on a very, very basic knowledge of Japanese that she had learned from various anime and manga – until her computer up and caught a nasty little Trojan horse virus.

She had gone to her computer teacher for her first year, Kenta Otoroshi, for help, but her atrocious knowledge of Japanese had conflicted with her ability to communicate the problem to him. Wild, having been in that class and already finished with her work for the year, though it was only three months into the first semester, stood up and offered to help. She took Meg's laptop into her own hands and, without even a word, removed the virus and cleaned off the computer of every bit and piece of malicious data within minutes.

Meg and Otoroshi had been astounded. Wild explained that she had been able to understand a little of Meg was saying due to the fact that she herself had been studying English using a copy of Rosetta Stone. Wild's own English wasn't too amazing, but it was enough to understand what was happening. She then downloaded a copy of Rosetta Stone for Japanese on Meg's laptop for her personal use, so that she could help herself learn the language a little better.

Otoroshi had been astounded and he thanked her, using her real name… and no matter how many times from then on that Wild had tried to get Meg to call her _Wild_ instead of _Tatsu-chan_, Meg would not yield. To Meg, she was _Tatsu-chan…_ even if she was lazy in the pronunciation of it.

"Well, I'm glad it's been working all right," Wild decided. "Without that machine malfunctioning, I wouldn't have a place to stay this weekend."

Meg grunted, "Whatever. I don't really get why you keep avoiding your brother, but who cares? I know I don't."

"Thanks, Meg," Wild offered. She knew that Meg cared, but knew better than to ask. Wild really had no desire to talk about her family to anyone else – especially when it came to her and Toushi's relationship… if it could be called that. As far as Wild knew, there wasn't a relationship of any sort to be had there, with her brother. She preferred to simply avoid him.

Meg shrugged and offered, "Get yourself settled; I'll go see if we can order in or something. Dad's always easier to convince when we have guests…" She walked out of her room, shutting the door behind her, leaving Wild alone in her friend's room.

Wild sighed. As much as she came here to avoid Toushi and his… presence… somehow her mind couldn't stop thinking of him. Between Toushi and the Digital World, she found herself at a loss for thoughts. There had been no signs from the Digital World at all, on anyone's end. Nikolai had seen or heard nothing – Yukio was the same. At school, Nikolai came over and sat with Wild and Meg. They didn't talk about the Digital World, but they were getting to know one another. According to Nikolai, Yukio went to their school as well, though all his classes were solidly online – he didn't seem to be a fan of going outside too often. Wild had thought of ten thousand different ways to infiltrate Yukio's online classes (and in so doing, his computer), but there would be no reason for that; yet.

She missed Flamemon terribly, and she wondered how he was doing without her. She had created a calculator application both for the iPhone that Nikolai possessed and her Android that would calculate the time differences between the Human and the Digital Worlds, so that they knew how much time was passing. Wild theorized that, since Yukio's 3DS had worked (though it had been low on battery life) in the Digital World, their phones must also be able to work – it would be useful to know how much time was passing here when they finally went back.

It really didn't help all that much – knowing how much time was passing there made Wild more restless and anxious for Flamemon and the other digimon. She had estimated that, since thirty seconds in the Human World equated to about three hours in the Digital World, these past five days in the Human World would equal nearly three months in the Digital World. Knowing that that much time had passed without their being there made Wild and Nikolai worried – what if something had happened?

The knowledge seemed to make Nikolai curious, and when he mentioned it, it struck a question in Wild, too – if that was the case, then just how old was Loaño? In human years, she seemed to be about sixteen, just a year younger than them… but in Digital World years? She could be eighty… or a hundred! Or even older than that! Wild, though curious, hadn't even wanted to begin calculating the math required for figuring that out. At least the Princess seemed to understand the differences and acted her age – for the most part. It was still strange.

Wild shook the thoughts from her head. While she wanted to go back to the Digital World, she wasn't sure how Meg would react if she disappeared. It was likely that Meg wouldn't care, but Wild knew it wouldn't be right to leave while she was here… but if there was an emergency…

She set her things down in the place where she had made up her living space for the past few times she had stayed over at Meg's house. She unpacked her own laptop and set it aside for later – there was coding and research to be done, but she didn't intend to do it while Meg was awake. That would be rude. She found her Android phone and checked for messages from Nikolai or Yukio. There was nothing.

Frowning, she set that aside as well. She pulled out the various cords and cables that she would need and her own travel-sized surge protector and plugged everything in. She hadn't brought much else but clothes and a toothbrush with her on the sleepover. She stood up, finding herself at a loss for something to do.

She looked out Meg's window and sighed. _I wonder if digimon can come into the Human World… they must be able to, if we're capable of going there. I guess that means if the Digital World is made of data, like the Boss said, then when we humans go there our bodies are also converted into data. Are digimon still data if they come here? They must be… or whoever made the Digital World and all the creatures in it is a complete genius to know how to convert data into matter and matter into data…_

_Ugh, this is giving me a headache, but I want to know…_ Wild groaned. _I wish I could go back willingly… but I need to know what kind of code the Digital World is made of in order to manipulate it… I swear, if it's made of Ruby I'll scream._

_Flamemon… everyone… I hope you're all OK there without us…_

Wild took her laptop and sat down on Meg's bed. She unfolded it and booted it up, waiting patiently, though part of her anticipated the screen that would take her to the Digital World. It didn't happen, and she figured it wouldn't happen anytime soon. She inserted her flash drive and opened up her skeleton for the application that would eventually be able to take them to the Digital World on a whim. It was fairly basic right now, but she was merely running off of sheer guessing until she understood the code she would need to complete the project.

Meg walked into the room then, promptly shutting the door behind her. The brunette looked about the room and noticed Wild. She grunted, "Only you would do work on a weekend, Tatsu-chan."

"Sorry?" Wild chuckled, looking up at her friend. She shrugged and told her, "It's not really work to me."

"I know it's not but it looks like work to me," Meg complained.

"Everything looks like work to you," Wild pointed out.

"My point exactly, Tatsu-chan," Meg exclaimed without emotion. She sat down on her bed and leaned forward, trying to peek at Wild's work. "What're you doing, anyway? Some computer mumbo-jumbo?"

"Actually, I'm working on a very complicated bit of skeleton code made from 4.1 Jelly Bean and C++ that will eventually become a-"

"Wait," Meg interrupted loudly. "Hold the phone. There's a code named _Jelly Bean?"_

Wild nodded, a little taken aback by her question. She responded, "Actually, all of the Android operating systems since 1.5 are created using version updates named after desserts. So far there's Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Jelly Bean. Gingerbread is really the most common of the operating versions and -"

"Hang on," Meg interrupted again. "Now I'm hungry for all those things. And bacon. Crackers and fish cakes Tatsu-chan, why'd technology and food have to unite to create something that will make me eternally bored and extremely hungry at the same time?"

"You know, for a self-proclaimed _lazyass_ you tend to go on these rants a lot," Wild pointed out dryly.

"Hush!" Meg demanded. "I hunger."

"Did your dad order the takeout?" Wild asked.

"Yes," Meg replied, anguish present in her voice, "but it won't get here fast enough! It never does. My hunger grows."

"Go get some chips or something."

"… Jimmy ate them all."

Wild smirked at her computer screen. "Well… that's what you get for having a hungry little brother." She began typing away, editing her code and tweaking bits here and there. "He eats all the food you want, but you still love him anyway, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Meg sighed. She fell back onto her bed and rolled onto her side, her back facing Wild. "You can't help but love your siblings, no matter how annoying or money-grubbing they may be. Speaking of…"

"Don't," Wild said sternly, without looking at her friend. She continued typing, the furious sound filling the room. She tried to focus on the code more than on Meg.

"What, the one time I care about something having to do with you, you don't want anything to do with it?"

"You know that's a touchy subject," Wild stated. "I told you I don't want to talk about it." _Just let me keep working._

"It's just that every time Toushi pops up you run here," Meg grunted, "or anywhere you can possibly go to avoid him. I'll admit I'm not the best person to talk to about it but at least I'm someone and I'm not going to tell anyone else."

Wild said nothing.

"Fine, be that way," Meg complained.

"It's not that I don't trust you or anything," Wild assured her. "Quite frankly, it's just none of your business."

"Look, Tatsu-chan, you're the closest thing I have to a friend in this country," Meg told her. "I know I'm not the best person in the world, but you can tell me shit, you know."

"… Meg, sucking up to me isn't going to make me give you food that I don't have."

"Dammit!"

Wild snorted and looked back at her code. She thought, _But I guess it's nice to know that, despite your laziness, you do care. Thank you._

* * *

Oha smiled at her son. He was her second, but she was no less proud of him. Seeing what a handsome older man he had become – and so like his father! It was like a breath of fresh air, looking at him.

Toushi was a well-built young man of twenty-three, his brown hair dyed blonde a long time ago. It suited him well. His eyes burned a bright blue – they hadn't been so bright when his hair was darker, but that was his choice and Oha was not going to force him to change it back. He was taller than Oha – but that wasn't a surprise. Tatsuya was getting to be taller than her, too – it was only a matter of time.

"I've got that," Toushi offered, laying his hand on the handle of the teapot. Oha stepped away and allowed her son to pour the hot water for the tea they were sharing. Oha couldn't help but stare at him.

Toushi glanced over at her and asked, halting his pouring for a moment, "What is it, Mother?"

Oha chuckled lightly at him. She touched his face and smiled softly, telling him, "It's nothing… but you… you look so much like… like your father."

Toushi smirked and blushed a little. He chuckled and said, "Don't flatter me, Mother. I always thought I looked more like you, anyway." He turned back to the tea, picking up a pair of cups for them to use. They were plain cups, simple white china – something that could be picked up at a supermarket. In fact, the entirety of the Namekura kitchen was simply done and incredibly easy to clean. He continued pouring.

"Maybe…" Oha breathed. Toushi went to fill up one of the tea cups. "But… Tekku and Tatsuya… they definitely look… like your father…"

_CRASH!_

"Oh! Toushi!" Oha yelped, shocked, though her voice didn't go up an octave. "Are… are you all right?!"

She reached for him, but Toushi stepped out of her way, revealing the teacups shattered on the floor. Oha stepped away cautiously, not wanting to step on glass with her bare feet. Hot water leaked out onto the floor – Toushi had been pouring the water into a cup when he'd dropped it and knocked the other one down.

"I'm fine," Toushi insisted harshly. "Sit down; I'll clean this up."

"B-But…"

"Sit," Toushi told her, pointing to a cushion. Oha obeyed hesitantly, wondering if she'd said the wrong thing. Toushi turned and went away, looking for the utility closet. He found it and came back, broom in hand. He began sweeping up the mess, the sound of cheap, broken ceramic filling the kitchen.

Oha swallowed, her heart pounding in her chest. She closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from welling up, but it happened anyway. She had lost control of her tears a long time ago, and they fell down her face without cease it seemed.

Toushi looked up from his cleaning job and offered, "I'm sorry; that was my fault." His voice became tight as he went on to ask, "Where… where is _she?"_

Oha sniffled and replied, "O-Over at a… a friend's. She's… staying for the… the weekend."

Toushi grunted. Oha opened her eyes and looked at her son. She could almost feel the animosity he felt towards his little sister in the air. If it were real, she imagined that it was some sort of demon hanging onto Toushi's shoulders, one that had grown from a small spark of anger ten years ago. In Tatsuya, however, she saw nothing of the sort. Whatever hatred that Toushi felt for Tatsuya, she didn't feel the same for him.

"I'll sleep in the spare room," Toushi stated. "I'm really sorry for all of this."

Oha stood up, her legs shaky. She put her hands on her son for support, and he se the broom aside to pull her into his arms. He held her securely, but close, and Oha shivered in his arms.

After a moment, he gently pushed her away. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, like a good son would to a weary mother. He brushed her hair away from her shoulders and told her, "You should get some rest, Mother."

Oha nodded wordlessly. Toushi let her go and she wobbled a bit on her feet before stepping away from him and into the living room. From there, instead of going into her own room, she slipped silently up the steps, where the children had slept for all their years of living here. The second story of the home now only consisted of Tatsuya's room (which, incidentally, was the only one occupied), Toushi and Tekku's old room that they had shared, and the spare room which Toushi had adopted as his bedroom ten years ago. There was also a bathroom up here, though it was only used by Tatsuya.

She walked down the hall and found the entrance to Tekku's old room. She slipped quietly inside and shut the door behind her.

Tekku's room was quiet. It had been for so long. Most of his things remained there, even long after he was gone. His bed lacked a mattress, however, and his dresser was empty of his clothes. A picture of Tekku, Toushi, and Tatsuya grouped together sat, framed, on top of the dresser. The glass of the frame was cracked and a little chunk was missing. They were much younger then. Otherwise the room was empty and smelled rather musty.

Oha walked up to the dresser and opened one of the drawers. Tatsuya had taken her oldest brother's red ascot to wear for herself – she was never seen without it on, aside from when she was sleeping. The only thing of Tekku's that remained was a pair of goggles that he had demanded he have as a young boy. They were still in excellent condition, though Tekku had worn them nearly every day of his life, along with his ascot.

She picked up the goggles and held them in her hand. Tears rolled down her face without her consent, though Oha did nothing to stop them from falling.

_Your brother and sister hate one another,_ she thought, as if Tekku could hear her, wherever he was now. _Is this what you would have wanted?_

* * *

_Goddammit, where are they? They're late!_ The young man thought, crossing his arms. It was a warm evening, the cicadas singing their annoying song without relent. He growled at them, wishing they would stop – but if he was too loud, he might regret it. Curfew was well over an hour ago, and he didn't want to get caught by the police sitting in someone's backyard.

It really was a nice backyard – he knew the girl that lived here. She, and her family, were loaded. He'd never bothered to figure out how they'd come across their money, just like he'd never bothered to try and date the girl. She was too rich for his blood – literally. But he was sure her parents wouldn't like to see him hanging about her backyard.

The hairs on the back of his neck pricked, and he spun, his fists out for his own defense. He nearly clocked the young man who was trying to sneak up behind him senseless with a quick jab, but the other boy ducked expertly and quickly tackled him to the ground.

Sitting proudly atop his prey, his face hidden in the shadows, he laughed, "Gotcha!"

"Get _off_ of me, asshole!" the first boy _hiss_ed, pushing off the other. He landed on the ground, laughing hysterically. The first young man stood up and brushed himself off, rolling his eyes at the other boy's foolishness.

The other boy did indeed seem foolish, and it wasn't just his personality that reflected it – though they were both wearing dark clothes, the other boy's pale skin and shockingly long, shaggy green hair stood out in the night. His lip ring glinted in the half-light.

"Wow, so much for meeting in _quiet,_" someone else chided.

The first young man looked to find the last of them standing nearby, her hands on her hips. Her body was lovely and honestly something to brag about – she was tall, with a nice ass (in the boy's opinion) and nicer breasts (again, in his opinion). Her hair was straight, black, and shiny, framing her pretty pale face with her dark brown eyes that seemed to glare out from behind her bangs.

She looked at them all and smirked, saying, "Good, we're all here."

"We wouldn't have to do this if you were just there in the first place, like you were supposed to be," the first boy growled at her. The green-haired boy sat up and shook the dirt and grass from his long mane.

"I was doing something _important," _the girl said, defending herself.

"Oh, I'm sure you made him feel important," the first boy sneered. The green-haired boy nearly fell onto his back again for laughing.

She glared at them both. The green-haired boy stopped laughing. "I was getting my driver's license," she corrected. "I'm sorry if that's not as important to you as it is to me. Now, can we just get going before we're late and we all regret it?"

Both boys nodded enthusiastically.

"Then let's go. We have an objective to complete," the girl said, her tone a little more chipper. "The Digital World awaits!"

* * *

Wild had stopped writing out the code when the food arrived. She'd left her laptop on, keeping her Android close at hand, while she and Meg amused themselves by eating and seeing who could dominate who on the latest shooting game that she had acquired. Wild, however, found herself having too easy of a time after having figured out the mechanics of the game a half-hour and a bowl of fried rice later.

Now, she and Meg were destroying the single-player campaign. With Meg on sniper detail and Wild scouting, they were an unstoppable team. Had they gone online someone surely would have called _hax_ on them. However, they weren't online so they were simply enjoying the pleasure of shooting NPC's that were helplessly defenseless.

Just as they were fighting a boss, Wild's phone decided to interrupt with a rather loud rendition of "Resonance" by TMRevolution. Meg paused the game so that Wild could answer the call. She looked at the screen on her phone and saw that it was Nikolai.

She looked to Meg and said, "I need to take this."

Meg only shrugged.

Wild stood and answered the phone. "What?" she asked.

"Check your computer," Nikolai said, not bothering with salutations.

Wild looked over at her laptop and found that the screen was completely black with the _JUST PRESS ENTER!_ displayed proudly at the top. Wild frowned. "OK," she said to him.

"Yukio's already gone in," Nikolai told her. "I'm going now, too. I get the feeling that something major is going to happen."

"Yeah, me too," Wild replied gravely. "Give me a moment."

She hung up. Looking to Meg, she asked, "Hey, Meg… can you go get something to drink?"

Meg looked at her skeptically. "You're asking me to do something?" she asked, a complaint in her tone.

Wild raised an eyebrow. She told her, "Etiquette."

"Fine, fine, whatever," Meg grumbled. She stood up and groaned, "I was thirsty anyways…" She lumbered out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Wild took a deep breath and pressed Enter, both excitement and a little bit of fear coursing through her as she wondered what might happen this time…


	17. Episode 17

**Episode 17: Splitting Up**

Wild opened her eyes to find herself inside the Boss's solar. The Boss stood behind his desk, leaning against his cane. Loaño and KiddGarurumon stood together off to the side, Loaño, dressed in a sweater and jeans, regarding her friends with the smile of someone who hadn't seen them in forever. To her, Wild supposed, it must have felt like forever. Nikolai, Strabimon, Yukio, and Breezemon stood together, as if waiting for her arrival.

_"WILD!"_

She was immediately tackled by Flamemon before she could so much as utter a thing. Wild hit the ground hard, knocking the breath out of her. Flamemon didn't help with the breathlessness, as he wrapped his arms tightly and securely around Wild's torso and squeezed with all his might. His flaming tail wagged in the air like an excited puppy.

"You're back!" he cheered. "You came back! You came back!"

Wild, gasping, said, "Y-Yes! Yes, I did! Now let go of me!"

Flamemon loosened his grip. He still held her down, though, by her shoulders, so he could give her a massive smile on his impish face.

"That's enough, Red," Yukio decided. "Get off her already, sheesh."

Flamemon's face fell and he groaned. He stood up and extended a hand to help Wild get up. She took it and pulled herself to her feet, slightly dizzy. She regained her lost breath and chuckled, patting his head, "I missed you too, Flamemon."

Breezemon giggled above the _hum_ of her wings, "He's quite childish!"

"Certainly," Strabimon agreed.

Flamemon frowned sadly and his ears drooped a little. Wild looked up at Breezemon and Strabimon with a slight glare. She put a hand on Flamemon's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Hey," Loaño put in, "he missed her. You all know how much he missed her. And you all missed your partners too, just as much as Flamemon. Don't make fun of him just because he decided to show it."

Strabimon and Breezemon froze at her words. They bowed at the waist and offered, "We apologize, Your Highness."

Loaño grunted, nodded, and then crossed her arms over her chest. She stood tall and strong and then offered, "Besides, Flamemon is younger than you anyway."

"Enough of this," the Boss decided. He tapped his cane against the ground and looked to the Digidestined. "It has been two and a half months since you last set foot in my solar."

"Wow," Yukio decided. "That's… a lot of time."

"Well, you weren't that far off, Wild," Nikolai pointed out.

Wild shrugged and nodded in agreement.

"I have been watching the Digital World every day since you left," the Boss went on. "Things have not gotten better. Digimon from several Zones have been kidnapped by a mysterious force… and to top it all off, Zen, Aws, and another cloaked human have been spotted in the Machine, Forest, and Taiga Zones, respectively. I don't like what this is adding up to. I want you all to go and investigate."

"Why not call us here sooner?" Wild wondered.

"Because I didn't want to interrupt your home lives," the Boss answered. "You have schoolwork to focus on during the week, don't you?"

"Well… yes," Nikolai answered. "But…"

"No buts," the Boss said. "I don't want you losing your focus. The Human World is just as important as the Digital World. Now, Nikolai, Wild – Birdramon and Aquilamon are waiting in the aviary to take you to your destinations. Yukio, since Breezemon can digivolve into a flying digimon, you do not need such transportation."

Yukio nodded, though he looked slightly queasy at the thought of flying with Breezemon again. Wild smirked at that.

"So," she asked, "where are we headed?"

"Well, it seems to be that these Zen and Aws characters are the antithesis of, well, you and Nikolai, Wild," Loaño pointed out. "Zen was the cause of the destruction in the Mountain Zone and Aws Corrupted all those innocent digimon – since you and Nikolai negate their DigiPower, it'd be more effective to send you after them."

"So it's assumed that I negate the DigiPower of our last unknown enemy?" Yukio surmised.

Loaño nodded. "So, Wild, you and Flamemon will be headed to the Machine Zone where Zen was sighted. Nikolai, you and Strabimon will go to the Forest Zone where Aws's activity has been detected… and Yukio, you and Breezemon will go to the Taiga Zone, where the last one is. I'd get a sweater before heading there, though…"

Yukio plucked at his own summertime clothes and sighed.

"And where will you go?" Nikolai wondered, scratching the back of his head.

Loaño looked to the Boss and sighed, kicking her bare foot against the ground. She said, "I can't go off on my own, and I want to help… so I have to go with one of you."

Wild opened her mouth to offer but Nikolai leaped down her throat and beat her to it, his face flushed, "You can come with us! We'll keep you safe!"

Loaño looked surprised, and she looked at KiddGarurumon as if to check and see if it were all right with him. The massive digimon grunted in reply.

"Where'er tha' Aws guy is, there's sure ta be lots a Corrupted digimon," KiddGarurumon reasoned.

Loaño nodded and said, looking back at Nikolai, "OK; I'll go with you."

Wild looked between the two of them and thought, _Well, that figures._ Even Yukio seemed a tad amused by the interaction. Loaño walked over to Nikolai's side, KiddGarurumon following behind her.

The Boss tapped his cane against the ground once more and said, "Very well then. Off you all go. I don't like where this is going… so we need to stop it once and for all. We cannot let them get a foothold in the Digital World!"

* * *

Aquilamon and Birdramon greeted them as Wild, Nikolai, Loaño, and their partners entered the aviary. Yukio had digivolved Breezemon into Kazemon as soon as they got outside and was already on his way to the far-off Taiga Zone, a parka jacket on over his clothes and a scarf around his neck… though he didn't seem too pleased about it.

The two great birds dipped their heads as Loaño entered their sights. "Your Highness," they _caw_ed to her.

Loaño rolled her eyes and sighed. She looked to Wild and said, "Since both me and Nikolai don't have that far to go, we'll take Birdramon to the Forest Zone. The Machine Zone is a little further into the Dark Area, so Aquilamon will be a much more comfortable ride for you two, OK?"

Wild nodded. "Got it," she replied. She approached Aquilamon and gave him a pat on the feathery stomach. "You ready, Aquilamon?"

"Of course, m'Lady Wild," Aquilamon _caw_ed. He bent and offered his back to Wild and Flamemon.

Irritated, Wild climbed onto his back. She reached down to help Flamemon up. Once they were both secured, she told him, "Please… just drop the formality, will you?"

Aquilamon stretched his wings. Flamemon reached up and wrapped his arms around Wild, hanging on tight. Wild gripped a few of their mount's feathers in her fists. He _caw_ed, "No can do, m'Lady Wild. Digidestined have always been treated with reverence and respect… and that will never change."

He flapped his wings and ascended quickly, taking off further into the Dark Area. Wild hadn't seen the Dark Area from this height before, and with her eyes she spotted a massive ring of volcanoes in the far-off distance. The Dark Area's half of the Forest Zone extended quite far in, the trees dark and bleak. Aquilamon, with one last flap of his wings, took off, following the lines of trees.

* * *

Seeing the Machine Zone made Wild's heart jump. It looked to be a massive facility made entirely from metal, with a great tower coming from its top. Different devices were attached to the roof of the building. It spanned a great distance, and it looked, even from above, that it stretched down below the earth, too. Digimon of all kinds, all looking to be made of some sort of metal, meandered about the facility.

_I wonder what kind of technology is in there,_ she thought. _This entire world is made of code… there has to be something spectacular here!_

Aquilamon began to slow his flapping as they began to descend. There was space enough in front of the structure for him to land, and he stretched out his feet to take advantage of that. Wild held on tightly, feeling Flamemon grip her apprehensively from behind. Aquilamon stretched out his wings as the ground got closer and glided to a smooth landing.

Wild and Flamemon slipped off of him and hit the hard ground, finding it to be made of metal. Their feet _clunk_ed against the ground, making strange sounds as they stepped here and there. Flamemon seemed to enjoy it, stamping his feet around to make different noises.

Aquilamon ruffled his feathers, as if he were uncomfortable with being here, and then looked down at Wild. "M'Lady, you're to see Lord Andromon, ruler of the Machine Zone, as soon as possible," he stated.

"Lord Andromon?" Wild wondered, an eyebrow raised.

"The Boss's orders, m'Lady," Aquilamon _caw_ed. "The others were given ones similar."

"That makes sense," Flamemon chimed in. "If anyone knows what's going on around here, it'll be Lord Andromon! He _has_ to know what's happening."

Aquilamon nodded, saying, "As he said. I'll be waiting here for your return, m'Lady."

Wild nodded to him and looked at the building that was the Machine Zone. She could hear the _hiss_ of steam and the _pound_ of pistons within the building. She could feel the heat of machinery on her skin and the slight breeze from the exhaust fans. There was a _hum_ of electricity in the air.

The building was much larger on the ground than it was in the air – most things were, of course. It was a whopping seven stories high, with the tower at least thirty. A little light blinked on and off at the very top. Gadgets and gizmos aplenty were, well, everywhere. Wild could _feel_ the technology here, and it felt good.

"I think I'm in heaven," she admitted blatantly.

Flamemon wrinkled his nose. "Eh, to each their own I suppose," he told her. "Personally, I prefer the Volcano Zone."

"Oh?"

"I was born there," Flamemon informed her with a smile.

"Well, of course you like it, then," Wild scoffed good-naturedly. She looked back at the grand Machine Zone entrance and breathed, "But this place… oh, Flamemon… you don't even _know…"_

Flamemon put a hand on her arm and chuckled, "I think I can imagine…"

She took a step forward, her steps announced by the metal laid over the ground. Flamemon followed. They approached what appeared to be a door. This door was quite large, to be honest, though Wild was sure that there were much larger doors on the other side of the building. She found the door handle and turned it, opening the door for them.

Inside was… not quite what Wild had been expecting.

She had been expecting towers upon towers of servers, or something like a factory. This… looked more like an oversized house. Digimon of all shapes, sizes, colors, and types walked, floated, flew, stomped, trotted, and everything else in between all about the place. There were machines, yes – embedded in the walls and floors and ceilings, but not quite to the extreme that Wild had been imagining.

Wild whistled. Most of the digimon ignored her. A few spared her a passing glance, but they seemed too busy carrying things here and there. Some were hauling heavy machinery, others gizmos and wires. They all seemed to be congregating around a nearby hallway that probably led somewhere important.

"So…" Wild began, "who's Lord Andromon?"

Flamemon blinked and told her, "He rules the Machine Zone."

"I got that much from Aquilamon," Wild intoned. "But who _is_ he?"

Flamemon frowned. "I've never met him myself… but I think he's a pretty nice guy. I know he's a machine digimon and he's really tall, but that's about it. He's an Ultimate-level, too… he's _really_ strong. Not so strong as Lord Asuramon, but…"

"Lord Asuramon?"

"The digimon that rules over the Volcano Zone," Flamemon answered.

"So, every Zone has a ruler?" Wild questioned. She raised and eyebrow and then added, "But I thought the Princess ruled the Digital World?"

"She does," Flamemon assured her. "She rules _everyone._ Lord Andromon and Lord Asuramon and all those other digimon only rule the Zones. They were tasked to take care of each Zone and all the digimon in it… they don't really _rule_ each Zone, but they look after it. All of them are Ultimate digimon so that one's not too much more powerful than another."

"Ah," Wild breathed. "So, it's a feudal system, pretty much. I see."

"I don't know what you mean by _feudal,_ Wild, but we should probably find Lord Andromon," Flamemon chuckled.

"Yeah… any idea on how to go about that?" Wild wondered.

Flamemon shrugged. "Let's just ask someone!" he suggested. He looked around and, before Wild could stop him, spotted a potential candidate. This candidate happened to be three times his size and a dinosaur-like creature modeled after a triceratops. His gray skin almost blended in with his surroundings, but he looked fierce. Wild reached to stop Flamemon, but he was already jogging towards the digimon.

Wild settled for swearing and jogging after him. She caught up to her partner just as he was saying chipperly, "Hey, my name's Flamemon!"

As Wild stopped at his side, Flamemon continued, "And this is my partner, Wild! We're looking for Lord Andromon – can you tell us where he is?"

The digimon stared at them with big green eyes. Thankfully, Wild felt no hostility from him like she did all the other digimon that had attacked her. Still, she could sense his skepticism. The triceratops shook his head and growled, "That's a _human."_

"Sorry," Wild panted. She looked at Flamemon with a slight glare, one that was meant for a silly child. Flamemon whimpered a little and took a half-step back. Wild looked back to the digimon and went on, "Uh… who am I speaking to right now, please?"

"Monochromon," the triceratops replied.

"Sorry, Monochromon," Wild said, bowing at the waist. Standing up straight, she met his eyes and went on to say, "The Boss sent us to see Lord Andromon. I'm a Digidestined, you see, and Flamemon – while a little childish and a bit silly – is my digimon partner. I know you've been seeing a suspicious human around in this area and I can assure you that I am not him."

Monochromon frowned. He seemed to think it over before saying, "Well… if the Boss sent you… then I guess you're all right. Lord Andromon's been busy ever since that human went and destroyed parts of the system that lead to the reactor core. If we don't fix it soon, the core'll blow and wipe this Zone off the map."

Wild and Flamemon shared a look. She could feel her DigiPower surging within her. She looked back at Monochromon and nodded, saying, "Take us to him. We can help."

* * *

"So… we're looking for a Lady Lillymon?" Nikolai asked the Princess. She was walking on ahead of him, her bare feet making no sound in the grass. The trees arched high overhead, blocking out the sun with their leafy canopy. It created a nice, slightly humid, atmosphere. Strabimon and KiddGarurumon walked near the two humans, each with their eyes sharp and their ears open for enemies.

Nikolai couldn't help but find this walk to be relaxing – he wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was just the beauty of nature that was wrapping him up in this blanket of feelings?

Loaño looked back at him and answered, "Aye!" with a smile plastered on her face.

Nikolai smiled back and thought, _OK, so it's not nature that's making this walk so nice. Dammit, Nikolushka, get a hold of yourself! You barely know this girl and you're already tripping over your feet!_

"So, where does she live?" Nikolai asked.

Loaño turned around and began walking backwards, placing her hands behind her head. She answered, "She lives in a place called the Flower Haven, the central part of the Forest Zone in the Light Area. You'll know it when you see it, trust me."

Nikolai nodded and Loaño slowed her pace to walk with him. They walked side by side through the trees as KiddGarurumon subtly moved to put himself in front of them, leaving Strabimon to cover their rear. It virtually left the two of them alone, but Nikolai could practically feel KiddGarurumon's protective gaze on him though his eyes were focused on the road ahead.

So Nikolai decided not to say anything at all.

* * *

The Taiga Zone was, as the Princess had promised, cold. Yukio supposed that he should have expected that, the Zone being named _Taiga_ after all – the word itself generally meant _snowy_ or _cold_ – but how often is the word used to describe such things? Yukio himself had only heard it a handful of times in his life, and when he spawned in a taiga biome in Minecraft he was slightly disappointed.

Kazemon was getting better at flying with a passenger attached to her, but Yukio wished that he could have taken another route. He supposed that he should get used to flying, as he had been paired with a digimon that just so happened to be a descendant of the Ancient Warrior of Wind. He adjusted his grip, his hands starting to get chilled.

"Almost there!" Kazemon announced, her breath fogging up in front of her,

Yukio looked down. The Taiga Zone was something like the Plains Zone, only covered in a thick layer of snow. As he looked ahead, he found that this Zone seemed to be much more mountainous – the mountains weren't nearly as high as the Mountain Zone's, but they were gray stone and coated with snow. Some of the mountains even appeared to be made of ice. The ocean touched the edge of this Zone, and most of the water was frozen over.

"That's the Ocean Zone, I presume?" Yukio assumed, nodding to the water.

"Yep," Kazemon replied, "but it overlaps with the Taiga Zone."

"Why is that?"

"Well, some Taiga Zone digimon live in the water, just like some Ocean Zone digimon live on the Taiga. The same is true for any Zone that the Ocean Zone touches," Kazemon explained. "The Ocean Zone, the Forest Zone, and the Heavens Zone are the only Zones to be both in the Dark Area and the Light Area. However, there are two rulers for the Forest and the Heavens Zones… while the Ocean Zone is ruled solely by Lord MegaSeadramon."

"Why?" Yukio wondered.

"Well… I'm not sure," Kazemon admitted. "You'd have to ask the digimon who appointed them why that is."

"Well, where do I find him or her?"

"… I don't know," Kazemon answered. She began to descend, having entered the Taiga Zone. They landed safely and Kazemon let Yukio go. He sank to his shins in snow while Kazemon floated just above the crust. She degenerated into Breezemon in a shower of green-and-white data and finished, "I'm not sure anyone knows where they are."

Yukio sighed, "Figures," he groaned. _Of course answers aren't going to be that easy to come by._ He looked around the Taiga Zone and sighed again. "Which way do we go?" he asked.

"Well… the central area of the Taiga Zone is Avalanche Village. We should head for that, since that'll be where Lord Zudomon is," Breezemon answered.

"Do you know which way that is?" Yukio asked.

"No," Breezemon admitted. "Hang on; I've got good eyes. I'll be back in a second."

She fluttered her wings and then shot up into the sky. Yukio followed her as she hovered at a pretty high altitude. She stayed up there for a long time, making Yukio guess that she was trying to espy the location of the village. Yukio tightened his parka around himself, feeling colder with every minute.

Breezemon came down, looking chilled. She rubbed her palms together and told him, "It's pretty far off, and…"

_"And?"_ Yukio wondered.

"It looks like a snowstorm's blowing in," Breezemon finished hesitantly.

"Let me guess; they get bad snowstorms around here?"

"Yes," she replied even more hesitantly.

"Wonderful."

"I spotted a cave that looks like it'll make good shelter, though," Breezemon said in her own defense. "We can wait there for the storm to pass."

"Well…" Yukio sighed, "lead the way. My shins are freezing."

* * *

Aws flared up his DigiPower. He formed a great orb with it before throwing it into the trunk of a tree. There, it spread to make a sort of portal where he could observe Zen standing amongst the machinery in the Machine Zone. He looked into the portal and asked, "How's everything on your end?"

"Set up nicely, Awsy-baby~" Zen replied cheerily. "I should have what we need really soon."

"Me, too," Aws announced. "Unfortunately, that cheeky Brit decided to bring the _Princess_ along on their little quest."

"Oh!" Zen gasped. "Scandal on Aws's end, Sin!"

"Oh, what are you complaining about now?" Sin's voice, well, complained, as the screen of the portal split and she came into view just below Zen. Sin looked to be stuck out on a mountain in the Taiga Zone, somewhere out of sight and mind.

"The Princess," Aws replied. "I don't know what to do about her. She could compromise our entire plan!"

Sin sighed, her breath puffing out before her mouth. Zen danced amongst machinery, _humm_ing a tune that Aws didn't recognize and otherwise acting like a distracting moron. Aws was about to yell at him when Sin started talking again.

"Proceed as planned," she advised. "But don't mess with her. Just get what you need and get out. She isn't even that much a threat right now – it's her partner we need to worry about. Just… get your shit done, Aws. We'll do what we have to on our end. Remember; we can't just kidnap her – we have to make _her_ come to _us."_

"Yeah, I know that," Aws reminded her. "Well… good luck. I'll see you back at headquarters, I suppose."

"Bye," Sin said. "Good luck."

"Good luck Awsy-baby~!" Zen cheered.

Aws closed the portal and the connection to the two of them was lost. He cracked his knuckles and sighed. _Well,_ he thought, _no one ever said that it would be easy…_


	18. Episode 18

**Episode 18: The Lords and Ladies of the Zones**

Nikolai reflected that Loaño was correct – he did know Flower Haven when he saw it. It was an incredibly beautiful place, filled with the smells of thousands of different flowers. When Nikolai looked around, he saw the source of the smell everywhere – there were flowers all over the ground, strung between the trees, _in_ the trees, wrapped around the trunks and branches, and blossoms even fell lazily through the air from the massive tree that grew at the back of the Haven. This tree was full to burst with blossoms, and ever little breeze would send petals cascading down on the plant- and insect-like digimon below.

Huts made of wood and roofed with leaves were in the trees, with ladders rolled out to touch the ground so that the occupants could reach their homes. A large pond lay in the middle of the Haven, glowing with beautiful, pure water and littered with lily pads. On one lily pad in the middle of the pond, a massive pink lily grew, each petal twice the size of a normal person. Nikolai looked at it all in awe.

"Wow," he breathed. "This place is… beautiful."

"You should see it during the Flower Petal Festival," Loaño told him with a faint smile. She gestured to the great tree and told him, "That's when all the blossoms on the great tree fall off and begin anew. The entire sky is filled with flower petals. All the digimon dance and sing…" She blinked and looked at KiddGarurumon. She asked, "Hey, isn't that supposed to happen soon?"

KiddGarurumon's ears pricked up and he replied, "Aye, if'n I recall correc'ly."

"Do all Zones have festivals like this?" Nikolai wondered.

"Yes," Strabimon replied. "Gloom Woods in the Dark Area's portion of the Forest Zone holds an annual Mushroom Festival. In the Taiga Zone, there's a Snowman Festival in Avalance Village. Then there's the Coral Reef Festival in the Ocean Zone, and the Music Festival in the Island Zone… "

"Every Zone has something to celebrate," Loaño explained. "And one every year both Areas hold a grand festival where the rulers of the Areas come together and meet in peace. It's held at the Boss's Castle!"

"Wow, really?" Nikolai breathed. "The _Areas_ have rulers, too?"

"Great Lady Magnadramon rules the Light Area, and the Great Count Murmurkusmon rules the Dark Area," Loaño replied.

"And you… rule over all of _them?"_ Nikolai asked.

Loaño bit her lip. She looked at KiddGarurumon, her silver eyes flashing. She looked back at Nikolai and nodded meekly, "Uh… yeah, I do. Though, I don't make _that_ many important decisions… Anyway, we're getting off track here."

"Quite," KiddGarurumon agreed with a curl of his lip, as if he weren't happy with Nikolai asking such a question. Nikolai frowned – with so many Lords and Ladies running about the Digital World, how was he supposed to know where the Princess stood in the hierarchy? He wasn't _from_ here – it wasn't obvious to him.

"So, we should be able to find Lady Lillymon in the great tree?" Strabimon surmised, pointing with one long claw at the spectacular tree.

"No, she doesn't live there," Loaño replied. "She lives… there." She pointed to the closed petals of the massive lily. "It's bigger inside than it seems… it's actually her house!"

"Oh," Nikolai decided. He realized by now that he should expect the unexpected in this place.

"Come on, let's knock," Loaño offered.

She led the way up to the pond where the massive lily sat. As they drew nearer, the digimon that lived in Flower Haven looked at the group with awe in their eyes. Nikolai himself had no problem with insects, but some of the insect digimon looked downright frightening. Some were small, though, and cute. Most of the plant digimon looked like little flowers, or had long vines attached to them. They were a sight to see, but so were every other digimon.

They reached the pond's edge, the resident digimon circling around them, whispering and murmuring. Nikolai tried to ignore them, but he couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about. He forced himself to focus on the pond, and the fact that Loaño was jumping onto a series of stepping stones that led up to the great lily-house.

He opened his mouth to urge her to be careful, but KiddGarurumon stopped him. Nikolai looked up at him and KiddGarurumon placed a finger to his muzzle, signaling for quiet. Unsettled, Nikolai rocked back on his heels beside Strabimon.

Loaño jumped from stone to stone, reaching one of the lily's petals. She reached up and knocked on the petal, tapping it gently so as not to harm the flower. All of Flower Haven hushed at that.

They waited a moment before anything happened. The petals of the lily began to move, slowly, until they came apart at the top. Then, they landed in the pond water with a swift, great _splash!_ Water rained down on the Haven, and the residents cheered at it as it hit them. Nikolai came away from the situation slightly damp.

Inside of the lily-house stood an elegant woman. She was small, shorter than KiddGarurumon, with a humanoid figure. She wore a pretty pink dress that was decorated with yellow vines on the bodice and flowed out into the flower blossom at the bottom. Four green leaves stretched from her back like wings. She wore a flower bud on her head like a crown, from with vines spilled out onto her body. She wore green gloves that ended in yellow blossoms and green boots decorated with yellow flowers. Her eyes were insect-like and shiny, and her smile was cute and endearing.

"Your Highness!" she declared. "Oh, it's been a while since I've seen you, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has, Lady Lillymon," Loaño replied with what sounded like a smirk.

"Well… allow me to welcome you to Flower Haven!" Lady Lillymon decided. She threw her arms into the air and bowed at the waist to the Princess. The other digimon of Flower Haven followed suit to their Lady ruler, all bowing. Lady Lillymon straightened herself after a moment. She fluttered her leafy wings and flew up into the air, hovering over her lily home.

She outstretched her arms again and offered, "And welcome to you, too, m'Lord Digidestined! The Boss told me to expect your arrival!"

"Uh… um, hullo," Nikolai replied, unsure of how to greet her.

Lady Lillymon flew over her subjects and declared loudly in a sing-song voice, "My faithful friends, people of Flower Haven… fear not this human – he's here to help us! Together we can drive out the evil that has touched the Forest Zone!"

The Forest Haven digimon cheered loudly, throwing vines, claws, and hands up into the air. Lady Lillymon put her hands to her hips and smiled down at them. Loaño crossed the stepping stones onto land, touching ground beside KiddGarurumon. Lady Lillymon fluttered down to meet them, her feet not touching the ground.

She held out her hand and said, "Follow me; we'll discuss what's happening in private."

Lady Lillymon fluttered towards the great tree and entered it through a gap between two massive roots. Loaño crossed her arms and said, "Alright, guys; here we go. Let's see what the problem is…"

She led the way as they approached the great tree. Nikolai followed behind, clenching his fist. He didn't know what Aws did to the Forest Zone, but he was willing to do whatever he had to do to stop him.

* * *

Wild followed Monochromon as he led the way through tunnels lined with circuitry. Flamemon rode on Monochromon's back, smiling at the prospect of riding such a large, lumbering digimon. Monochromon's pace was good enough for Wild to keep up – plus she wanted to look at all the machinery as best she could – so she decline his offer to give her a lift.

She blinked at the screens displaying strange code and jumbles of numbers. She couldn't help but stop and stare at it. The screen didn't seem to do anything other than display the code and the numbers, and she wondered if it would do anything else.

Monochromon, sensing that he had lost his human follower, stopped walking and looked back. "What're you doing?" he asked.

"She likes stuff like this," Flamemon told him, patting his crest. "Technology and code, stuff like that."

"What sort of code is this?" Wild wondered, tapping the screen with one finger. "It looks to be some language mixed with binary. I know binary… but what's with the rest of it?"

"That's DigiCode," Monochromon replied. "It's the code that makes up the Digital World. All of it goes through the Machine Zone to be processed and analyzed. We can't edit or change it ourselves, but we've been dedicating our lives to figuring out what it all means. The reactor core powers those efforts. Without it, this whole facility gets shut down."

Wild's heart began to beat wildly. "You mean…" she began, "you're _studying_ the code that makes up the Digital World?"

"Uh, yes," Monochromon replied hesitantly, a little wary of how excited Wild was becoming.

Wild took a deep breath and said, "I _need_ to have a look at what you've found so far! See, I've been trying to figure out what sort of code runs this place, too and if I knew then I could become much more adept at using my DigiPower to fix it! I theorize that my DigiPower can manipulate your DigiCode and create new objects with it, or replace ones that were lost! If I understood your programming then I would be able to do _so much more_ to help you guys, not to mention all of the _other_ applications for it and -"

"Wild!" Flamemon shouted.

Wild blinked, snapping out of her rant. Panting for loss of breath, she blushed and offered, "Oh, I'm sorry… just, programming is something I'm really passionate about…"

Monochromon blinked at her and then asked Flamemon through the side of his mouth, "Does she always go off on tangents like this?"

"Occasionally," Flamemon replied leisurely.

"Hey!" Wild snapped indignantly.

"Well…" Monochromon began, "maybe Lord Andromon will let you study DigiCode after you help us fix the reactor… he's the one in charge of all of it, anyway."

Wild nodded and thought, _I hope I can help, then… if I can study this DigiCode, then I can fill in my skeleton back at Meg's house and create that portable portal to the Digital World. Then I can export it to the Apple App Stores so Nikki can get it, too. I'll have to find some way to put it on Yukio's 3DS, though, since his phone isn't as advanced as ours… That should be pretty easy, though… all it would take is me Homebrewing his 3DS and placing it on. Simple as anything, really…_

"Wild?" Flamemon wondered. Wild snapped out of her thoughts and she looked up at him. "You're doing it again."

"Oh, sorry," Wild breathed. Sighing, she offered to Monochromon, "Please; continue."

Monochromon gestured with one foot down the hall. "He's just… down this way," he offered. Blinking strangely at her, he continued on his way. Wild, feeling slightly embarrassed, followed after him. She tried her best to keep her mouth shut on the way.

* * *

Yukio and Breezemon managed to duck into the glacial cave just in time. The snowstorm had begun when they were a few meters from the cave's mouth and it picked up to a whiteout just as they set foot inside. Looking out, Yukio saw nothing but white on white on whiteish gray, and none of it was discernable. Shivering, he wandered further into the cave.

It was made of ice and stone and had a decent amount of room for all of them to rest in. Breezemon shivered, rubbing her arms with her hands, and shook snow off of her hair. "That was close!" she remarked.

"Yeah," Yukio agreed. He pulled his parka over his jacket and wished there was more to it. The scarf was keeping his neck warm, but his hands were freezing and his pants were damp from the knees down. He looked around for material to start a fire with, but he saw nothing. He supposed that made sense… a fire in the Taiga Zone wouldn't be all that beneficial to the ecosystem.

Breezemon looked at herself in the ice and smiled, making funny faces. She laughed and floated away. She bumped into Yukio, causing him to lose his footing on some ice and sending him on his backside. Breezemon recovered with a flutter of her wings, and she hovered over him.

"I'm so sorry, Yukio!" she said frantically. "I didn't mean to make you fall!"

"It's… alright," Yukio assured her sardonically.

Shadows moved across the ice, catching Yukio's eye. It was a big, hulking shadow, with what looked like spikes coming out from it in several places. He looked past Breezemon, eyes wide, to find that they weren't alone in this cave.

"Here, let me help you up…" Breezemon began. She held out her hand. Yukio grabbed it and pulled her close to him, rolling out of the way. "Hey, what're you -? Ah!"

Ice exploded just beneath where Yukio had been laying. The cold dust cleared to reveal a massive paw sunk into the ice. Ice scattered everywhere as the beast lifted his paw out of the crater he'd made. Yukio and Breezemon followed the great paw up to find a leg, and then to find the beast himself.

He was a massive wolf, styled a bit like KiddGarurumon – with periwinkle fur and dark blue stripes. His muzzle was long and filled with teeth. His eyes were ice blue and fevered. The spikes that Yukio had seen in his shadow were really spikes of fur, tipped with the same blue color as his spikes, on his shoulders and hackles. A long, winding, striped tail with fringes at the end came from his backside. His face was ringed with a mane that made it hard to tell what were his ears and what was fur. He was nowhere near as tall as KiddGarurumon, but he was almost as intimidating.

The beast opened his mouth to roar at them, but his icy eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed onto his side. The entire cave shook with his impact, sending vibrations through Yukio and Breezemon.

"Yukio…" Breezemon breathed. A little bit of a warm breeze blew through the room, bringing a stagnant smell to Yukio's nose.

"Yeah, I know," Yukio replied. "He's sick."

Yukio pushed himself up and walked over to the digimon. He could feel the heat of the digimon's fever from a short distance away – it was so intense that Yukio was confused as to why it wasn't melting the ice. Breezemon followed him defensively, just in case he woke up and started attacking.

Getting close, Yukio realized that the digimon was breathing. He sighed with a little bit of relief. He laid a hand on the digimon's body, finding his fur to be soft and warm. He closed his eyes and searched deep within, summoning forth his DigiPower. It flowed around him like green-and-white flames before catching onto the digimon.

Yukio could feel his DigiPower seeking out the infection and eliminating it – but this was a bigger digimon, and he could feel the limits of his power coming upon him quickly. The darkness from before was starting to take over, threatening to suffocate him.

Breezemon, sensing this, laid a hand on his and her wind cleared the shadows away. Strength surged through him, and he felt his DigiPower go back on the offensive inside the digimon's system. It found the very core of him and then spread outward, purging the digimon's system of all infections.

Then and only then did Yukio sense it was time to let go. Ears ringing and head pounding, he fell to his knees and groaned. Breezemon was right beside him, holding him in her arms. He could feel strength from her flowing into him, and his head cleared a little. His ears were still ringing, but that, too, cleared in time.

"I… I didn't hear anything that time," Yukio told her. It was true; the thing that had spoken to him the last time he had activated his DigiPower was querulously silent. Was the taunting a one-time deal? Were they simply trying to make their presence known?

"Neither did I," Breezemon admitted. "But I think he's going to be all right. See? He's getting up."

She was right; the digimon was now struggling to sit up. He settled for a position where he was laying down like a tired dog, his head on his paws. He looked at Yukio with one big icy eye.

"Thanks," he grunted. "I'm sorry for attacking you."

"Happens all the time," Yukio scoffed. Inside, though, he thought, _OK, that's definitely not a good thing to start joking around about…_

"I'm Garurumon," the digimon said, his voice strained. "I thought you were the human who put this cursed sickness on us…"

_Ah, so he _is_ related to KiddGarurumon,_ Yukio thought. _Somehow…_

"What're you doing all the way out here?" Breezemon wondered.

"I came out here looking for a cure for the sickness," Garurumon replied. "Nearly everyone in Avalanche Village is sick with it, even Lord Zudomon."

"Lord Zudomon!" Breezemon gasped. "But… we need to see him!"

Garurumon threw them a questioning look.

"I'm Yukio; this is Twinkle Toes, my digimon partner. I'm a Digidestined," Yukio introduced. "I have the DigiPower of Healing… which I just used on you. The Boss sent me to speak with Lord Zudomon about what's been going on here."

Breezemon rolled her eyes. "I'm Breezemon," she corrected, "and he's right… But if Lord Zudomon is sick too, then that means we'll have to help everyone at Avalanche Village before we can go after that human."

Garurumon blinked. "So it's true," he rumbled. "The Digidestined really _have_ returned… I thought it was just a rumor."

"News doesn't exactly travel _fast_ here, does it?" Yukio wondered.

Breezemon chuckled. She said, "Well… it depends on who is delivering it."

Garurumon looked out the cave entrance. "Well," he lamented, "we won't be leaving this cave anytime soon by the looks of this storm. It's best not to try and brave it. Here – curl up with me and we'll wait it out."

He adjusted himself into a more round shape, and Yukio and Breezemon settled in. Breezemon laid herself out on his spine, while Yukio leaned against his stomach. Garurumon's fur had about four layers of pure warmth to it, and it suddenly felt much too warm to be wearing a parka… let alone a duster jacket. He resisted the urge to take them off, though.

"So… what's been happening? How long has everyone been sick?" Yukio wondered.

"It broke out last night, and spread from there," Garurumon replied. "I'm a good runner, so Lord Zudomon sent me to find someone who could help. Instead I ended up catching it myself and I had no choice but to hide out in this cave. I couldn't go back to Lord Zudomon without any sort of answer… not to mention the snowstorm. But this is good… I'll get you to Lord Zudomon when the storm's over and we'll fix this mess before it causes too much damage."

"Do you know where the human is?" Yukio asked. "Did you get a good look at them?"

"No," Garurumon replied, "but I heard tell that they were female. If I see her for myself, though… no one will be able to identify her."

_Hm, so my enemy is a woman,_ Yukio thought. _Interesting. I wonder what kind of person she is… Well, she's obviously not a very good one…_

"We'll do our best to help you," Breezemon promised. "Don't worry… that girl attacked my village, too, in the Plains Zone. Yukio came, though, and helped just in time!"

"So they got Moor Town, too?" Garurumon sighed. "Is nowhere safe from them?"

"No," Yukio replied. "No place at all."

"Well…" Garurumon rumbled, "that's why there are Digidestined. Something goes wrong in the Digital World, and they come and save it. It's always been that way…"

_I hope we can save your world, then,_ Yukio thought. _It seems to be our job, after all… though, I wonder why we were chosen for such a task…_

* * *

Sin huddled up and coughed, cursing the cold. Regardless, she extended a hand and charged up her black-and-gray DigiPower. She shot it at the wall of the mountain. It buried itself in the snow before forming a pool which displayed Aws on the top, and Zen on the bottom. Aws was surrounded by trees and flowers, and Zen was surrounded by blinking machinery. Sin sighed, wishing that she could trade places with one of them.

"How are things?" she asked, her breath puffing out before her.

"Fine on my end!" Zen replied cheerily. "Wild's here and heading to the reactor. I should be able to act soon."

"Not so good," Aws growled.

"Oh?" Sin wondered. "What's going on?"

"It seems that the denizens of Forest Haven seem to be putting on a little festival," Aws replied. "It's going to be hard to find what I need without being seen."

"So why don't you cause a huge mess and just distract everyone?" Zen offered. "That'd be fun!"

Aws sighed and rolled his eyes. He complained, "I can't do that, numbskull – the _Princess_, remember? I can handle the idiot with the failed perm, but I can't take them _both."_

"Wait… that's actually a good idea, Zen," Sin realized. "Aws, you can control digimon – of have you forgotten that? Just… stir things up a bit. Make it so that the Princess and Nikolai are too busy dealing with your distraction to pay any attention to what you're doing."

Aws groaned. "Where am I going to find a strong enough distraction, though? The Princess's partner digimon isn't a joke, Sin – or did you forget that?"

"Well, then, maybe power isn't what you need," Zen chimed in. "Maybe you would do better to find a lot of digimon to use as a distraction?"

Aws touched his chin in thought. "Hm," he said, "it could work, I suppose. It'll have to, or we're screwed."

"Just be quick," Sin reminded him. "We need you, remember?"

"I know. I'll do my best," Aws promised. He cut away from the portal, causing his half to disappear. Zen took over the rest and was smiling at Sin.

"If you want, I can finish up with Wild and the Machine Zone really quick so I can keep an eye on the silly-head~" he offered.

Sin sighed and then said, "No, Zen… that's probably not a good idea. Do what you need to do, and then we'll all meet up at headquarters. OK?"

"OK, Sinny," Zen said, pouting. He cut away, causing Sin's method of speaking with them to disappear. She reabsorbed the DigiPower and sat back down on a cold rock, shivering. The blizzard howled across all the Taiga Zone, cold as could be.

And there she was, sitting in it.


	19. Episode 19

**Episode 19: So Pretty~! Flower Haven's Flower Petal Festival!**

Flower petals rained down from the great tree in the middle of Flower Haven like rain. Sunlight danced through the lovely things, casting tiny shadows everywhere. Digimon who lived in Flower Haven moved to and fro with the petals, as if they were trying to mimic their movements. Nikolai breathed deep, inhaling the smell of flowers. The smell of food was also beginning to permeate the air, coming from stands that digimon had hastily set up to sell food… at least, that was what Nikolai had previously thought of as what they were doing – upon further watching, he realized that they were actually _giving_ the food away. He thought this quite charitable of them.

As the petals fell, they began to fill the ground until there was no more grass visible throughout Flower Haven – instead, it was a thick layer of pinkish and white flower petals… and still more rained down from above. Young digimon piled them up and jumped in them, laughing as they scattered everywhere. Their families watched on with big smiles.

Nikolai crossed his arms over his chest and wondered how someone could attack a place this peaceful. He admired them for being able to keep going in the face of such troubled times. The festival certainly seemed to be keeping their spirits up, which Nikolai supposed was needed right now.

"You think this is going to work?" Nikolai wondered to Strabimon, who stood next to him, watching the petals fall with a serene look in his sharp red eyes.

"I hope so, or we have no other way of drawing Aws out of the woods," Strabimon replied. "Lady Lillymon is right when she says that the Forest Zone is a maze that, if you don't know your way though, you'll be stuck here for a long time. If we don't do this, then we could be searching for Aws for days."

Nikolai nodded, agreeing with him. Inside the great tree behind him was a meeting hall – the place where Lady Lillymon had led them. Within, they had discussed a plan of attack – using the Flower Petal Festival, they would hopefully cause enough of a commotion to draw Aws out of hiding and provoke him. Then, Nikolai and the Princess, along with the denizens of Flower Haven, would drive him away and hopefully thwart his scheme. There was no guarantee that it would work, but it seemed to be their only plausible option… and it was much more favorable than being stuck out in the woods for who-knew-how-long.

As a precaution, Lady Lillymon had posted several digimon sentries around Flower Haven. Looking about now, Nikolai realized that they blended in well with their surroundings – just as they were meant to. If it looked like Flower Haven was too guarded, then Aws might shy away from it and realize that it was a trap. Keeping the guard more discreet would make it easier for their ruse to be pulled off.

"Keep your eyes open," Nikolai told Strabimon.

"I know," Strabimon replied. He looked over to him and offered, "I know you're nervous… but there's nothing we can do but wait now."

Nikolai sighed and admitted, "It's killing me, this waiting." He looked back to the great tree, where KiddGarurumon stood guard at the entrance. No matter how many times Nikolai had tried to get back in after their meeting with Lady Lillymon, KiddGarurumon refused him. He sighed again and wondered, "I wonder what's going on in there?"

"Lady Lillymon insisted on taking the Princess for a little while," Strabimon reminded him. "Whatever they're up to, it must require privacy."

"Yeah…" Nikolai decided, sighing. "Still… kinda wish I knew."

Strabimon raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"What?" Nikolai wondered. "What's that look for?"

Strabimon flattened his ears and offered, "Nothing, nothing at all. Just… you seem to act differently around the Princess than you do around, say, Wild."

"She's a Princess!" Nikolai returned, flustered. "You're supposed to treat them with dignity and respect and… and Wild's just a friend. Where I'm from – London, not Japan – we know to treat royalty with a certain amount of… refinement."

"There's royalty in your London?" Strabimon asked.

"Well, they're more for moral support than anything else," Nikolai replied. "They don't really do anything… important. They're mostly just… there. Your Princess isn't. She's really involved with you guys…"

Strabimon flicked an ear. He said, "I'm sure if the Boss had his way, the Princess would be nothing but a figurehead as well. Her safety is his prime concern. She's our responsibility right now… so it should be ours as well."

"Believe me, I know that," Nikolai offered. "I don't want anything to happen… but I know it will. If this place has taught me anything in the little time that I've actually been here, it's that sitting idle for too long is a bad idea."

Nikolai looked back to where KiddGarurumon stood guarding the entrance to the tree. He groaned and complained aloud again, "Dammit, what's going on in there?! Are they making out or something?"

"_What?"_ Strabimon wondered, his sharp eyes wide.

"I don't know! I'm an impatient person!" Nikolai vented.

Strabimon scoffed, "I figured _that_ out quickly…"

"Will you both calm down already? You're going to blow it."

Strabimon pricked his ears and looked behind him. He bowed at the waist and offered, "Princess… you look lovely."

Nikolai blinked in confusion and turned around as well, to find that the Princess was behind him. His greeting caught in his throat as he observed her – she was in a lovely twilight-colored dress patterned in all kinds of flora and fauna, with a hem that mimicked the bottom of Lady Lillymon's skirt without being so poofy. She was barefoot as was normal for her, and there were ribbons from her wrists to her elbows. She wore a pale scarf around her neck, covering up the necklace that she normally wore. Her blonde hair was braided and decorated with flowers, and she wore a pretty silver tiara.

"Ah…" she began, tugging at the hem of her dress, "it's nice that you think so, Strabimon, but I think it makes me look like a complete idiot…" She looked up at Nikolai, her face slightly red.

Nikolai couldn't help it; his face was red as well. How had the tomboyish, ruffian, adventurous Princess gotten herself into such a lovely mess? Part of him thanked Lady Lillymon for some reason – he wasn't sure why.

Loaño smirked and said, "Hey, your face got all red again!"

Nikolai bit his tongue and then retorted, "Yours is too."

"I-It is?!" Loaño wondered. She reached up and touched her cheeks. Her face grew redder with every passing second and she breathed, "Oh man, I hope you didn't give me some sort of Human World sickness or something!"

"I'ain' a sickness, pup," KiddGarurumon rumbled as he lumbered over to them. He patted her on the back and explained, "I's call'd bein' _embarrassed._ I' 'appens when ya do somethin' ya didn' wanna do in fron'a o'er people… 'at, or ya feel somethin' ya don' wan' no one else ta know."

"I look stupid in this!" Loaño complained. "I told Lady Lillymon _no_ a thousand times and still she insisted…"

"See? 'At's why yer embarrassed," KiddGarurumon told her. "Ya don' wanna wear 'at 'ing e'en though it makes ya look like a Princess ought ta… an' you don' wanna wear it in fron'a anyone."

Loaño sighed. The redness cleared up a little. Then, she looked up at Nikolai and then asked, "So, why's his face all red?"

KiddGarurumon cocked his head and then offered, "I got no idea."

Strabimon chuckled to himself and offered, "I think he may be embarrassed for a different reason…"

Nikolai threw Strabimon an angry glare. Seething a little, he thought, _Dammit – why does he have to know what's going on in my head?! That's not fair._

"Anyway, Lady Lillymon's going to start the festival soon," Loaño told them. "We should get in our positions."

"Righ'," KiddGarurumon grunted. He turned and walked into the crowd of digimon. Nikolai's eyes followed him – he seemed to disappear, despite his size and differences from the other digimon. He must be good at the whole "stealth" thing, Nikolai figured.

Loaño looked around Flower Haven, seemingly distracted. Nikolai took this opportunity to look towards Strabimon and insist quietly, so as to not draw her attention, "Will you shut up?! What are you doing?"

Strabimon shrugged. "Pointing out the truth of things," he admitted, just as quietly. "You obviously have feelings for her…"

"That's, just… dammit, get out of my head, will you?!"

"Sorry, I can't," Strabimon told him with a frown. "I'm your digimon partner; we are connected by the Spirit of Light in our hearts. You can read my heart as easily as I can read yours."

Steaming, Nikolai gave Strabimon a shove. "Just stop saying that sort of stuff when she's around, all right?" he insisted.

"So… you _do_ have feelings for her?"

"… I don't know! I hardly know her…"

"Ah. I see," Strabimon realized. He bowed to Nikolai and decided, "I apologize for being so outspoken, Nikolai… at least about that."

Nikolai sighed. He opened his mouth to tell him that the bowing wasn't necessary, but Loaño interrupted him.

"Guys – it's starting! Will you shut it with your whispering?" she _hiss_ed. "Get to your places!"

Strabimon and Nikolai nodded and went over to stand with her. The digimon were gathered up in the center of Flower Haven, all around the big lily where Lady Lillymon lived. They buzzed with excitement, talking and murmuring amongst themselves. As far as Nikolai knew, none of them knew what might actually happen today, during their cherished festival.

Heart pounding, Nikolai watched as suddenly, all the digimon in Flower Haven became quiet. The only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of their breathing, and the sound of the soft, delicate petals of the great tree behind him falling to the ground. The hush was amazing and slightly frightening at the same time – anything could happen to disrupt it.

A sweet wind blew through Flower Haven, carrying with it the subtle smell of flowers. For some reason, it made Nikolai's mouth water. He looked around, slightly nervous, and found that everyone was looking up. He followed suit.

He found that, up above them, the branches of the great tree stretched and obscured his vision. Leaves rustled. Petals fell. Light poured through the thin foliage, causing it all to glow. It was so beautiful a sight that he couldn't help but smile.

Suddenly, the branch began to shake. Two huge beetle digimon – one red, one blue – exploded from the leaves, showering petals everywhere. Their wings _buzz_ed like the sound of a bee in one's ear, the sound disrupting the silence. The two huge insects flew around one another in circles, the sun shining off of their hides.

"Kabuterimon is the blue one," Strabimon said quietly, as the digimon all around them let out cries of excitement. "Kuwagamon is the red one."

"They normally hate each other's guts," Loaño added, "but today they're friends."

Nikolai took that in as he watched Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon fly. The two of them moved in a choreographed fashion, scattering the petals into patterns as they flew. They moved so fast that the petals seemed to freeze in the air when they _whizz_ed by. They flew so close to the crowd once that they gasped in shock. Kabuterimon reached down with his long arms and grabbed two younger digimon in his hands. As he flew back up again, he placed the digimon on his back and they shrieked with delight as they flew with him in the sky. Kuwagamon did the same, and the crowd went wild for them.

Soon enough, though, the crowd's eyes were plastered on the branch again. Nikolai looked up to find that Lady Lillymon was perched there, on the very edge of the furthest branch. She stood on her tip-toes, her arms in the air, her wings primed and ready.

Then, she crossed her arms over her chest and fell.

She careened towards the ground, causing all the digimon to raise a cry of fear for their caretaker. Younger digimon cried out to Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon to save her. The two of them seemed geared to do just that, as their flight paths crossed with Lady Lillymon's spiraling self.

Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon caught her just before she touched the heads of the digimon below, each taking one side. They held her up as petals cascaded down, and the digimon below cheered, clapping their appendages together and hollering. The younger digimon seemed to enjoy it most – they jumped and bounced up and down happily, boisterously crying with excitement.

"It's mostly for the little ones," Loaño pointed out. "They love the routine."

"I can tell," Nikolai decided.

The routine obviously wasn't the end of it, however; Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon let go of Lady Lillymon and transported their passengers safely to the ground below before taking off again. They fluttered beside Lady Lillymon, who faced the crowd. Nikolai couldn't see her face, only her back.

"Welcome, one and all, to the wondrous Flower Petal Festival!" she called to the digimon of Flower Haven. They applauded her and then quieted, allowing her to speak again. "This year we have special guests – the Digidestined Nikolai and his partner, Strabimon… and the Princess of the Digital Twilight herself! This year, the forest has given us a great bounty of food and some of the most amazing scenery ever! Let us celebrate that today!"

The digimon cheered, and then fell silent again with a wave of her hand. Lady Lillymon began again, "The great tree must shed its petals so that it may begin anew… and with it, all of the Forest Zone! Come, my friends – dance with me! Dance and sing and we will rejuvenate the Forest Zone as all the digimon before us have done!"

More cheering, though this time it grew quiet only to be replaced with a new sound – music. It was slow and soft at first, but it began growing. Nikolai could hear flutes and drums and the strumming of some sort of stringed instrument. Where the members of this band were, though, Nikolai didn't know – they must have blended in with the crowd just as well as the security that they had placed earlier.

Then, there was the _humm_ing. The digimon in the crowd were singing along with the music, though there didn't seem to be any words. It was all just purely sound mixing together into something that didn't seem to need words at all. All the voices began melding into one, and though Nikolai could see which digimon were singing, he couldn't tell whose voice was whose.

When Lady Lillymon joined her voice to the chorus, however, Nikolai noticed. When she began singing, she began dancing as well. She stepped on the air as if there was a floor beneath her feet, and Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon moved with her. Despite their massive size compared to her, it seemed to flow just fine. Below them, the digimon in the crowd began dancing as well as singing. Soon enough there was less uniform and more… fun. The digimon seemed to be dancing as if they were in a club on the Human World – like no one was watching, and like no one cared. As they danced and sang and the music flowed from seemingly nowhere, the petals that fell seemed to multiply. Soon, the branches of the great tree were becoming emptier and emptier as they fell. It was sad, but Nikolai could see new buds forming where the old ones fell off.

"Wow," he breathed. "This is… kind of awesome."

"Yeah," Loaño agreed. "And they do it every year. I won't miss it next time, I don't think."

Nikolai looked over at her, petals falling all around them. She was looking up at the tree, a small smile on her face. Yet, there seemed to be something sad about that smile – like something was on her mind. He stepped closer and brushed her arm.

"Something up?" he asked.

"Oh, no," she insisted to him, "it's nothing, really, just… just a bad feeling."

"A bad feeling?" he repeated. "About what?"

"All of this," she told him. She turned to face him, but refused to meet his eyes. "It just feels like this isn't going to work, somehow."

"Hey," he said. He grasped her shoulders gently and said, "It'll work out. We'll stop them, Princess; don't worry. We'll save the Digital World."

Loaño looked up at him, her silver eyes full of emotions that he couldn't understand. He caught a glimpse of something there, something he didn't know… like someone else was looking at him, not the Princess. She breathed, "But, Nikki…"

"Hey!" Suddenly, Lady Lillymon was beside them, her face nearly splitting them apart. She fluttered there, smiling at them. "Why aren't you two dancing?"

'_You two'…?_ Nikolai thought. Doing the math, that was wrong. He looked about, only to find that Strabimon had disappeared into the crowd of dancing digimon. He frowned and thought, _Figures._

"Uh…" he said to Lady Lillymon, "no offense, my Lady, but I really don't dance…"

"Foolishness!" Lady Lillymon insisted. "You look like a great dancer… and I know the Princess can dance!"

"No!" she said simply in reply to that.

"We, uh…" Nikolai began, but Lady Lillymon cut them off.

"Oh, stop making excuses – you two look like you'd make good dance partners! Come on, it's part of the festival!" To emphasize her point, Lady Lillymon put one hand on Nikolai's back and the other on Loaño's back and then pushed them together. Nikolai inadvertently wrapped his arms around the Princess as she did the same to him, and their bodies were inexplicably crushed together.

Lady Lillymon giggled and then fluttered off, thinking her work to be done. Nikolai, his heart pounding and face so warm it felt like it was on fire was left unsure of what to do. The only thing he was sure of was that KiddGarurumon was no doubt aiming to kill him for accidentally manhandling the Princess in such a way.

"You… don't want to dance," Loaño asked.

"W-Well, I…" Nikolai began, stammering. _I'd love to dance with you,_ he thought, _but things don't work the same way here… you're a Princess and I'm a bumbling idiot. Bad combination._

"If you don't want to, just say so," Loaño decided.

"I… I just…" Nikolai sighed. He opened his mouth and said, "I'd love to, Princess…"

"R-Really?" she wondered, looking up at him. Her face was reddening as well, and he assumed he was as red as the shell of that Kuwagamon _buzz_ing up in the sky.

"I-I mean, just because Lady Lillymon wants us to!" Nikolai insisted quickly. "I get the feeling that she won't quit until we do…"

Loaño looked to want to say something, but then offered, "Yeah. You're right. She can be pushy like that… best to just please her. It _is_ part of the festival, after all…"

Nikolai looked down at her and found that she didn't meet his eyes. Heart pounding faster, he thought, _Did I say something wrong? Did I offend her? Oh, man… I hope I didn't… _

He took her hand in his and began to lead her in a circle. He wasn't sure what sort of dance would be appropriate here – Lady Lillymon hadn't been wrong when she'd assumed that Nikolai was a good dancer – but it seemed like it was simply an "anything goes" sort of event. If Loaño wanted to do something different, then he would let her do that.

They danced awkwardly with one another for a few minutes before they got used to it. Then, they were dancing quiet well, though still keeping tight to the circular pattern they stepped in. It seemed as if they both didn't want the dancing to go too far… the reason why, however, neither of them seemed to know.

After about twenty minutes of dancing, singing, falling petals, and just plain silliness from digimon, it seemed like nothing was happening… and then a digimon cried out a warning.

The festivities stopped and the digimon in the crowd cried out in fear as Aws appeared, standing on a platform made of his DigiPower. Nikolai and Loaño parted, through for some reason their hands were still locked together. Strabimon and KiddGarurumon were suddenly by their sides.

"Aw," Aws cooed at them, "how cute. Was I interrupting something, Nikki?"

"Go to hell, Aws!" Nikolai called back.

"Now, that's not very nice…" Aws complained. "Look – I'm not here to cause too much trouble. I'm looking for something in particular and if you'd just hand that over to me then I'll be on my way and this merry little festival can continue."

"Whatever you want," Lady Lillymon began, floating up to meet him, "I will not let you have!"

"Please; be reasonable!" Aws insisted, sighing. "I'm offering us both an easier route to go about this. I'm needed elsewhere quickly so if you'll just give me what I'm here for then I'll be on my way."

"What could you want from them?" Loaño wondered, pulling away from Nikolai. She walked towards Aws, her silver eyes burning like flames.

"Ah… Your Highness!" he said mockingly. "How could I refuse an answer to a question from royalty? You see, dear Princess, I'm here for a certain digimon."

"I won't let you kidnap any more digimon!" Loaño shouted back.

Aws continued on, ignoring her. He pointed at Kabuterimon and announced, "You – you need to come with me."

_Kabuterimon?_ Nikolai thought. _Why would he need Kabuterimon?_

"Nikolai," Strabimon growled in his ear.

"Right," Nikolai agreed. Louder, he announced, "Enough of this! _Glow – Spirit Evolution!"_

"_Strabimon Spirit Evolve to… Lobomon!"_

Aws groaned. "Really?" he said, "And here I thought you were all easy to reason with…"

"Kidd!" Loaño called.

"Lobomon!" Nikolai ordered. "Get him off his pedestal!"

"On it," KiddGarurumon rumbled.

Lobomon unsheathed a laser saber and replied, "Right."

"Fine!" Aws shouted. He raised a hand glowing with black-and-purple DigiPower. "We'll do things the hard way!" He snapped his fingers.

The brush rustled all around them and two digimon suddenly burst into Flower Haven – one, a massive ape with golden fur and red markings. His skin was slightly bluish, and he had an armband around one forearm. The other was a wiry, lean dog-like creature that resembled a Doberman from the Human World, only with red eyes and spikes. It looked absolutely menacing, snarling and snapping at the digimon in the crowd while its cohort slammed his fists against his chest and roared. Nikolai could feel the Corruption within them and he ran up behind Loaño, pulling her away before the dog came and tore her to shreds.

"Dobermon and Apemon," she panted as they stopped running. She looked up to Lady Lillymon and shouted, "Get the digimon out of here – we'll handle them! Protect the digimon!"

Lady Lillymon nodded down at her and called, "Follow me, everyone! Hurry!" before speeding off into the Forest Zone. Digimon streamed after her, the strong protecting the weak from Dobermon and Apemon's attacks.

"Kabuterimon – run!" Nikolai shouted.

The blue insect digimon nodded and sped off. Aws sighed and groaned, "You just had to make this harder on yourselves, didn't you? Well… I'll get what I want. I'll have Kabuterimon and you'll be taken care of. I'd say _see you later,_ but, well… I highly doubt it!"

He snapped his fingers and disappeared. Flower Haven was all but clear of pedestrian digimon at that point, leaving Loaño, Nikolai, KiddGarurumon, and Lobomon to face Apemon and Dobermon.

"Ready?" Nikolai asked, clenching his fists. He felt his DigiPower surge at the sight of the two Corrupted digimon.

"Yes," Lobomon said calmly. "Let's hurry!"


	20. Episode 20

**Episode 20: One Down, Three to Go**

Yukio opened his eyes. He groaned, realizing that he must have dozed off after saving Garurumon. The process had taken a toll on him, he knew, and the nap had cleared him of his headache. He was still resting against Garurumon's soft, warm side. He looked out at the world beyond their icy cave and realized that the storm had stopped.

"Hey," he croaked, his voice cracking with sleep. "It's over." He looked to Garurumon and Breezemon, who rested on top of him, to find that they were both quite asleep. He nudged Breezemon, who woke with a sneeze and a start.

"The storm's done," he told her.

She sniffled and blinked awake, saying, "OK…"

Yukio tapped Garurumon's forehead and said, "Wake up; the storm's over."

Garurumon shifted and let out a growl. He yawned, exposing his huge teeth and a red tongue before opening his eyes. Groggy, he rumbled, "Oh… gimmie a second…"

Yukio stood up and looked outside. There was a fresh, powdery white blanket of snow there now, some of it reaching into the cave. The sky was clear and blue, with fluffy white clouds. Thankfully, the entrance hadn't been sealed shut by the snow. A cold breeze blasted through the cave, however, causing Yukio to hold himself and shiver.

Breezemon sneezed again, complaining, "It's too cold!"

"You two won't make it to Avalanche Village without freezing first," Garurumon noted, looking at the two of them. Breezemon slid off of him as he stood up on his long legs and huge, snowshoe-like paws. He glanced at Breezemon as she fluttered above the ground and noted, "Well, _she_ might… if she's fast enough."

He bent down and offered, "Here; get on. I can get you two there fast… and we need to move it anyway. There's no time to waste when my entire village is sick and there's a chance the only person who can help might freeze to death."

Yukio nodded. He approached Garurumon and, with his help, was soon sitting on the huge wolf digimon's back. It was warm and comfortable, and when Garurumon stood up it felt like Yukio was on top of everything. It wasn't the same sensation as flying with Breezemon, but he figured he wouldn't be nauseous from this.

Breezemon fluttered up and sat down behind him, throwing her arms around Yukio's waist. Yukio leaned forward and grabbed some of Garurumon's fur in his hands to hold on tightly, and he gripped hard with his thighs. He had never ridden a horse before, and he supposed that it was something similar to that. He was very afraid he might fall off.

He almost did, too, when Garurumon took off out of the cave and into the Taiga Zone, causing a snowstorm of his own with his huge paws.

* * *

Wild stared at all the technology around her. Monochromon had led them to the reactor room – or what looked like the room before it. Digimon were gathered around, dropping off supplies to repair the damage. They left to fetch more afterward, leaving the room packed with metal and gadgets to be sorted through.

"How bad was the damage?" Wild wondered, looking at the pile.

"Bad enough," Monochromon told her. Flamemon slid off of his back and hopped to his partner's side. "Most of the wiring that led to the reactor and what covered it up got destroyed. We don't have much time to fix it."

Wild put her hands on her hips. "I don't think you'll be needing all that scrap," she decided. "Let me and Flamemon handle this."

Monochromon raised an eyebrow. "What can you do, m'Lady?" he asked.

"Get me into the reactor room and I'll show you," Wild replied. She cracked her knuckles and told him, "Hardware and software are my specialty… and so is undoing Zen's work."

Monochromon looked skeptical. He grunted, "We'll see what Lord Andromon thinks. Come on."

The dinosaur lumbered towards the door that led to the reactor. Wild and Flamemon followed him as he opened it with one huge foot and walked through. The huge, heavy door shut loudly behind them, and they stood looking at the reactor.

It was a magnificent thing – with a huge metal base that seemed to contain pure, raw data that shot up from it in a stream of light. All around it were machines of all kinds, wires and computers and buttons and levers and all things in between. Wild saw processors and CPUs of all kinds, all working at maximum efficiency. DigiCode flowed from screen to screen, its alien language making Wild fidget.

She looked down at the floor to find that a large amount of it was actually gone on one side – wires lay broken and exposed, sparking everywhere into an abyss. The edges of the hole were lines with yellow-and-black data, which Wild had seen before.

"Yeah," she decided, "Zen was _definitely_ here." Flamemon flattened his ears and _hiss_ed, a small spurt of flame coming from his nostrils. She looked up at Monochromon, feeling her DigiPower well within her, "I can fix this, though."

"Better talk to Lord Andromon," Monochromon told her. "He should be in here somewhere, trying to patch things up."

Wild stepped away from Monochromon and began to explore the room for herself. It was circular, the center of the room being the reactor. She touched one of the machines, making sure not to press buttons. Flamemon followed her cautiously, wary of all the machinery. Wild, on the other hand, couldn't be more at home. The Spirit of Flame stirred within her when she occasionally glanced at the damage Zen had done. She would most definitely fix this.

She looked up at the code streaming out of the reactor. Words and numbers that she didn't understand mixed together, swirling in a stream of knowledge and data. It contained the very fabric that the Digital World was made of – this was very, very important.

"DigiCode," someone said, their voice emotionless and robotic. Wild turned around and found a very tall digimon standing behind her. He was in a humanoid shape, with flesh and metal converging into one. He seemed to be mostly held together with thickly-tied wire, and Wild wondered if there was flesh beneath. He looked down at her with red eyes peering from a metal helmet in the shape of a skull. He raised a long, lanky arm up and gestured to the DigiCode stream, going on, "The very thing that builds the Digital World… the thing that we are trying very hard to understand, and are very close to losing."

"Lord Andromon," Flamemon whispered.

Wild looked up at him intently as Lord Andromon went on, "The Boss told me you were coming, m'Lady Wild. I welcome you to the Machine Zone."

"I'm happy to be here," Wild replied, bowing at the waist. "Please, let me help repair the damage."

Lord Andromon blinked at her and asked, "You understand such machinery?"

Wild straightened up and looked at him. She nodded and said, "I do; and what I don't understand, I learn quickly. Your DigiCode fascinates me – I wish to help you understand it, if that's not too bold of a request."

Lord Andromon grunted robotically and said, "The Boss told me that you would be interested in such a thing. Help me repair the reactor, and I will teach you all we know of DigiCode… and you will be free to study it yourself."

"Sounds like a deal," Wild decided. She walked over to the damage and knelt down beside it. She looked down at the abyss and then turned her gaze to Flamemon. "You ready?"

Flamemon nodded and told her, "I'm here for you, Wild; just take what you need."

Wild's hands glowed with her DigiPower and she closed her eyes, delving deep within. She touched the bond that she and Flamemon shared and drew strength from there, causing her DigiPower to grow in size. She opened her eyes and leaned down. She caught a loose wire between her fingers and watched as her DigiPower began to make it grow.

She held her hand towards the other side of the chasm and let her DigiPower extend its influence. The wires there shuddered and came to life, untangling and extending to meet other wires of the same make and color and purpose. Their insides twined together and their outsides fused shut, sealing them tight. Metal grew like grass, following the wires and covering them up.

Wires of all kinds were strung together, connected, and fixed. Wild closed her eyes to further her concentration on making things tidy and neat below the metal shell. She imagined it all being color-coded and organized, so that is something like this were to happen again it would be much easier to fix everything.

She opened her eyes and found that her imaginings had been made real – the wires were laid out in a neat pattern, like a grid, and all were different colors. She was done quite yet – she took a deep breath and allowed what remained of the metal to cover up the wires.

When it was done, she finally let go, and she and Flamemon fell down, exhausted. Wild rolled onto her back and looked up, allowing the sights and sounds of technology to soothe her aching, pounding, head. Flamemon, on his stomach, groaned.

Lord Andromon turned to the reactor and reached into the data stream. He closed his eyes for a moment. After a minute, he opened his eyes and declared, "The danger has passed." He looked down at Wild and decided, "You are a most interesting specimen of a human, m'Lady Wild."

He turned to Monochromon and announced, "Take them to get some rest."

"Yes, m'Lord," Monochromon conceded. He lumbered over to Wild and Flamemon. Lord Andromon effortlessly lifted Flamemon onto his back. He turned to Wild and grasped her gently, yet strongly, and then did the same.

"We will speak of DigiCode when you awaken," Lord Andromon told her. He looked to Monochromon and said, "Go."

Monochromon nodded. He seemed to sense that Wild and Flamemon were too exhausted to do much about keeping themselves from falling off of his back, so he walked carefully to prevent them from falling.

* * *

Avalanche Village was a rustic little place covered in snow. At least, Yukio thought everything was covered in snow until he realized that everything was actually _made_ of snow. It was a village filled with dozens of igloos of all sizes and shapes to accommodate all kinds of digimon. The village was caught between an ocean and a mountain of ice, both of which were vast and endless-looking. A huge castle made of snow and ice and stone was built on the mountainside, looking over the village. The ocean was mostly iced over for what looked to be about a hundred meters out. Huge braziers made the light for the village.

Garurumon padded into the village. The place was quiet and deserted-looking. Yukio shivered as he sensed the sickness looming over nearly every igloo. Breezemon shuddered behind him and pressed her face into his back, as if she were saddened by it all. He sensed that she was. Garurumon bypassed the main part of the village and headed up the steep pass to the castle of ice.

The path was lined with stone towers that marked where one should walk. It reminded Yukio vaguely of the road to High Hrothgar from _Skyrim._ Garurumon handled the slope well and he trotted up the path.

"Lord Zudomon lives in the castle," he told them. "I'm sure he'll be grateful for your help."

"Hopefully we've made it in time," Breezemon murmured nervously.

Garurumon didn't answer; he just made his strides longer than they were before.

* * *

"Zen!" Sin called through the communication portal. "Have you any contact with Aws?"

Zen shook his head from the other side. "I think Awsy made his move, Sin," he said. "I'm almost ready to, too. That silly Digidestined fixed what I broke! How dare she!"

Sin shook her head, "Don't worry about it, Zen. It's not even her you're after, remember?"

"I remember what I'm after, Sin," Zen assured her. "What about you?"

"I'm doing fine; just cold," Sin told him. "I should be able to make my move pretty quickly."

"Good~" Zen decided. "So everything's going according to plan!"

"Just be careful around her, Zen," Sin warned. "Spirit of Flame, remember?"

What was visible of Zen's mouth curled into an unnatural frown. He growled, "I know, Sin."

"I'm just saying," Sin offered. "I'm not trying to offend you, Zen."

Zen nodded and said, "Well… I'm almost ready to go. I gotta cut out."

"See ya," Sin told him. "Good luck."

* * *

KiddGarurumon grasped Apemon's fists in his paws and lifted the huge golden-furred digimon off his feet. He spun him around a few times before tossing him with a growl. Apemon struggled to regain his balance, but he slammed back-first into a large tree before he could succeed. The force of the impact sent shudders through the tree, causing the house settled on top to wobble. KiddGarurumon let out a growl before leaping onto Apemon.

Dobermon lashed his tail and leaped, jaws open, at the Princess. Nikolai started towards her, but Loaño, with a wave of her hand, generated the same barrier that she had when Nohemon attacked the Boss's castle. Dobermon slammed headfirst into the barrier and was pushed back with an annoyed whimper. The dog was quickly back on his feet, however, and he snarled at her.

Loaño held up her hand. The DigiPower that had made the shield converged back around her fist. She growled back at him, _"Grr_ to you, too!"

With another wave of her hand, her DigiPower shot out like a beam at Dobremon. It struck him square on the forehead and sent him flying. Nikolai looked to Loaño in astonishment.

She shrugged and told him, "What's that look for? I'm allowed to defend myself!"

Nikolai shook his head. He would still defend her – he didn't want to know what would happen if she got hurt somehow – but he would take that into consideration. Her DigiPower was definitely not the same as his and the others'.

Dobermon sat up and shook himself off. He curled his lip and opened his mouth, shouting, _"Schwartz Strahl!"_ A black orb formed in his mouth. After a moment, it let loose a great black beam that headed straight for the Princess.

Nikolai shouted, _"Lobomon!"_

The white wolf warrior lunged at Dobermon, his laser swords gleaming. With a slash, Dobermon and his attack were disrupted. Nikolai grabbed Loaño by the wrist and pulled her away from the blast, which still fired though Dobermon had been pulled away from the source. The beam _whizz_ed past where she had once been standing and struck a nearby tree, dissolving it to nothing. Thankfully, no one had lived there.

Loaño pulled away, insisted, "Let go – I can take care of myself!"

Nikolai turned to her and snapped, "You almost got disintegrated!"

She bared her teeth and snarled, her tone almost feral, "I said _I can take care of myself!"_

Nikolai rolled his eyes and thought, _Stubborn girl…_ "Sorry," he offered.

Loaño shook her head and then said to him, "Don't worry about it. I'm just sick of everyone trying to protect me like I'm some helpless little Baby."

"I know you can handle yourself," Nikolai reasoned. "But maybe we should leave this to Lobomon and KiddGarurumon?"

Loaño frowned and then reminded him, "We have to get Apemon and Dobermon back to normal – you're the only one who can do that."

Nikolai told her, "I'd need a good distraction. I can't get at them like they are now." He wanted very much to Purify them of what Aws had done to them, but they were much too dangerous to get close to at the moment. He'd need a distraction, like when he had Purified Golemon; otherwise, he risked getting hurt.

Loaño grasped his wrist in her hand and said, "Come on; we need to try."

Nikolai nodded and looked to the fighting. KiddGarurumon was doing a good job of keeping Apemon from defeating him. Lobomon was trying his best not to destroy Dobermon with his swords – the two were locked in a battle of speed and agility. The two were trying to keep their fights from destroying too much of Flower Haven, but that looked to be impossible – when KiddGarurumon dodged an attack from Apemon, the enemy digimon's fist hit a tree instead, causing the house on top to topple over onto the ground. KiddGarurumon, furious, used a piece of the topple home to strike Apemon on the head. Meanwhile, Lobomon was dodging blasts from Dobermon – one hit another tree-house, sending it to oblivion.

"Right," Nikolai said, nodding. His DigiPower arose within him. He pulled away from the Princess and shouted to Lobomon, "Get him cornered!"

Lobomon's reply was to slash at Dobermon and send the dog into another tree. Lobomon kept on the offensive, hacking and slashing, but not really doing much damage to Dobermon. When Dobermon was rightly witless, Lobomon raised his wrist and announced, _"Strahl!"_

A disorientingly bright burst of light came from his wrist and blinded Dobermon. The digimon whimpered and scratched at his eyes, trying to cure them. Lobomon took that opportunity to leap onto his back and crush him to the ground. Dobermon struggled vainly, his eyes whitened by the cataracts caused by Lobomon.

Nikolai rushed forward and grasped Dobermon's large head in between his hands. DigiPower burst from his palms and swarmed into Dobermon's body. Dobermon's struggles grew more frantic as Nikolai understood the exorcism was painful – but after a moment he found that Dobermon's Core was clear of Corruption, and he let go.

Dobermon lifted his muzzle to the air and howled, unleashing a torrent of black-and-purple energy into the sky. When it was finally all gone, Lobomon let him go. Whimpering quick apologies, Dobermon turned tail and ran, dashing into the woods.

Lobomon dashed off to help KiddGarurumon with Apemon. Nikolai stood up, his knees weak. Loaño helped him to stand steady, wrapping her arms around him. Nikolai felt himself recover with a helpful burst of energy from Lobomon, and he stood on his own. Panting, he nodded to Loaño.

"Let's save Apemon," he told her.

"Right," she replied.

They rushed over to the three battling digimon. KiddGarurumon eventually wrestled Apemon into a powerful headlock that, to Nikolai, looked like it might break his head off. Lobomon grasped Apemon by the head and held a blade close to his throat, threatening to slice if he broke free.

"Do it," KiddGarurumon growled. "this guy's a pain!"

"And I thought you were the strongest Champion digimon around!" Loaño mocked childishly.

"I am," KiddGarurumon grunted back. "Fer me ta say 'at this guy's a pain is somethin'."

Nikolai ignored their banter and pressed his hands against Apemon's monkey-like face. He closed his eyes and focused on the shadows gathered within Apemon. Lobomon lent his power to Nikolai, allowing him to push into the shadows and shed light upon them. He reached into Apemon's Core, pulled out the Corruption within, and pushed it all away.

"_You are all progressing nicely…"_ _hiss_ed the voice from before. _"But you are still too late, Nikolai Miles."_

_Too late…?_ He thought.

"_Much, much too late…"_ The voice faded into nothing as Nikolai was forced away from Apemon. The golden monkey screeched and energy poured from his mouth and into the sky. Apemon fell limp and KiddGarurumon let him fall to the ground.

Apemon pushed himself up and, much like Dobermon, muttered apologies before rushed off. KiddGarurumon threw a growl in his general direction.

Lobomon sheathed his swords and caught Nikolai as his legs gave way from beneath him. He held him carefully, and Nikolai could feel him feeding energy into his body so that he could stand again. Nikolai grudgingly protested, but Lobomon stubbornly continued. Eventually, Nikolai could stand. When he did, Lobomon, in a burst of data, changed back into Strabimon.

"Thanks," he offered.

"No problem," Strabimon told him. "I'm here to help you, Nikolai."

Nikolai nodded his thanks to him again before looking to the Princess and her partner. "What now?" he asked.

"We kind Aws and beat the shit out of him!" Loaño declared, punching her hand with a fist. "I don't know what he wants Kabuterimon for, but we can't let him succeed in capturing him."

"Too late, losers," someone cackled.

They all looked to the source of the voice. There, _buzz_ing on his new mount, was Aws. Beneath him, Kabuterimon squirmed and protested, but Aws punched him in the back of the head with his DigiPower. Kabuterimon let out a pained moan and stopped struggling.

"No," Loaño breathed. She narrowed her eyes at him and shouted, "You bastard!"

Aws laughed at her and patted Kabuterimon. "Oh, come on; you guys wanted to make it hard but it turned out to be pretty easy to get him." He made an _L_ shape with one hand and put it to where his forehead would be if it weren't hidden from sight. "Idiots!"

"What the hell do you need Kabuterimon for?" Nikolai demanded.

"I'd tell you, but that would be totally uncool of me," Aws explained. "I think you'll figure it out soon enough. Trust me; it's something you won't be able to miss!" He patted Kabuterimon on the head and decided, "Well… I've wasted enough time here, losers. Time to make my exit!"

Kabuterimon raised his spindly arms and growled, _"Electro Shocker!"_ A huge orb of electricity formed between his two hands and, when it was big enough, he tossed it at the group as if it were a toy ball.

KiddGarurumon stepped in front of the blast and shouted, _"Knockout Punch!"_ He raised his fist and, timing it right, struck the ball, volleying it back towards the sender. However, Kabuterimon and Aws were gone, and the electric orb flew off into the sky.

Nikolai stepped forward and wondered, "So… we failed?"

"Sort of," Loaño replied. She looked disappointed and sad. "I mean, we saved the digimon of Flower Haven, but…"

"But they got what they wanted," Nikolai finished. "So what do we do now?"

"Go back to the castle and wait," she told him. "That's all we can do – wait for the others. Hopefully they have better luck than we did."


	21. Episode 21

**Episode 21: Two Down, One to Go**

They found Lady Lillymon and the other digimon of Flower Haven settled down in a large grove of trees. Everyone looked to be fine, but they all seemed a little frightened when Loaño and Nikolai appeared from the trees. Lady Lillymon, a somber look on her face, stood up from amidst her people to greet them, a red Digiegg in her hands. She smiled faintly at them and fluttered to meet them.

"How did it go?" she asked, concern plain on her face.

"We drove them off," Nikolai explained. "Flower Haven is safe… but for a few things that might need to be rebuilt."

Lady Lillymon shook her head and said, "There's no reason for you to apologize for that. Buildings can be rebuilt and repaired. No reason to fret too much over them."

"We lost Kabuterimon," Loaño added. She looked up at Lady Lillymon, sadness in her eyes, and said, "We tried, we really did, but… Aws got to him before we could defeat Apemon and Dobermon. I'm really sorry, Lady Lillymon."

Lady Lillymon frowned and said, "Oh, Your Highness… you've no reason to apologize to me. Kabuterimon tried to lead Aws away from us; to protect us."

"We could have stopped them if…"

"Don't beat yourselves up over it," Lady Lillymon told her. "It will all work out in the end."

Loaño shook her head, obviously frustrated with this turn of events. She kicked at the ground and crossed her arms, her eyes closed. Lady Lillymon cradled the Digiegg in her arms and looked at the Princess with concern, though she said nothing about it.

"Did Aws do that?" Nikolai wondered, pointing at the Digiegg.

Lady Lillymon looked between him and the egg and remarked, "Well, yes." Sounding sad, she explained, "Kuwagamon went to help Kabuterimon lure Aws away after we found this place… but by the time that Kuwagamon got to him, Aws must have already taken Kabuterimon. He used some power – either his own or Kabuterimon's – to turn Kuwagamon into an Digiegg."

"Oh, man," Nikolai breathed. "That bloody bastard…"

Loaño clenched her fists together and growled, "How in the hell does he seem to think he can get away with this? Digimon may not be humans, but they have lives and families too! This is uncalled for!"

"Obviously they have some motive," Strabimon assured her. "Or, at least, the one pulling their strings does."

"Whoever _that_ is," Nikolai said, sighing. _Though, I _did_ hear that voice again,_ he thought. _It sounded the same as the one I heard when I Purified Golemon. It seems really possible that the owner of that voice is the one who is behind all of this. It was taunting Yukio, too…_

Loaño looked at Lady Lillymon and sighed. She said, "We're heading back to the castle to see how everyone else is doing. Will you guys be all right?"

Lady Lillymon smiled at her and said confidently, "Of course we will, Your Highness. We'll begin reconstructing what was broken of Flower Haven as soon as we return. We're very grateful for your assistance."

_Even if we did fail,_ Nikolai thought. Looking at the Princess, he guessed that was what she was thinking as well.

Loaño looked at the egg in Lady Lillymon's hands and sighed, shaking her head. She closed her eyes and placed a hand on the egg's shell. What Nikolai assumed was her DigiPower poured from her hand and surrounded the egg. Lady Lillymon, though shocked, didn't let go of the egg, lest it fall. The black-and-white data flickered over the Digiegg like flame until Nikolai saw a small crack appear in it. Silver light seeped through, like a little ray of sunshine hidden in the palm of someone's hand.

He and Strabimon leaned in close for a look at what was happening. Some of the other digimon nearby turned to look at the light as well, vocally curious. More cracks appeared, and more light seeped out of them. Finally, when the egg was nothing but a mass of cracks, the silver light faded into white and the egg's shell dissolved into data, revealing the digimon inside.

Lady Lillymon looked down at the little digimon in her arms, shocked. It was a tiny green blob that seemed to be emitting little green bubbles from its body. Two tiny black eyes opened to observe the world and it suckled on what looked like a yellow pacifier.

"No digimon who would sacrifice himself for a friend deserves to forget them in such a way," Loaño decided, her voice sounding a little strange. The baby digimon _coo_ed and snuggled close to Lady Lillymon, bubbles floating up from its body.

The digimon around them murmured in hushed tones, astonished and awed by what Loaño had done. She patted the digimon on the head gently, gave him a smile, and then bowed to Lady Lillymon.

"We'll be leaving now. Good luck," she said.

Lady Lillymon seemed hesitant to speak, as if she had found that something was stuck in her throat. She presumably swallowed it to say, "T-Thank you, Your Highness."

Loaño shrugged it off and the group kept on walking as if nothing had happened. KiddGarurumon was in front, plowing through the digimon before them. Loaño and Nikolai, who was thoroughly stunned, followed behind him. Strabimon took up the rear, walking calmly and quietly, though Nikolai could sense that the lithe digimon was just as confused as he was.

He threw the Princess a sideways glance and thought, _Wow… I wonder… why does she act like that?_

_What is her story?_

* * *

Yukio found that, though they were surrounded by ice and snow, it was actually quite warm. He slipped off of Garurumon's back, Breezemon following him. He landed on the hard-packed ground and realized that the castle in Avalanche Village was more like a more massive version of the igloos that dotted the down at the foot of the mountain. Garurumon shook his fur of snow and sat on his haunches.

Dusting himself off, Yukio commented, "This place seems deserted."

"Most of the sick digimon took shelter here," Garurumon explained. "Lord Zudomon lives here – this fortress of his is practically impenetrable. It's the safest place in the Zone."

"Where's Lord Zudomon?" Yukio asked.

"Yeah," Breezemon added, "we should help him before we help the others."

Garurumon tipped his nose in a direction. He got up and offered, "Follow me."

Garurumon led the way through the foyer of the massive igloo until they came to its very end. There stood a massive stone throne of sorts, encrusted with ice. Laying atop the throne was a massive digimon that, to Yukio, explained the enormity of the room they were in.

He was large and powerful-looking, though he seemed weaker than he was normally. Fur from some digimon covered his face like a mask, and he wore it as his gloves and shoes as well. A huge shell covered his back, with three horns going down the center, each one decreasing in size. A horn that reminded Yukio both of a harpoon and the horn of a narwhal was centered in the beast's forehead. Two huge tusks came from his seal-like mouth. A tail the color of flames came from his back. His eyes were huge and, though frightening, seemed baleful in their blue glare. A huge steel hammer lay by his side, just within his arm's reach.

Upon looking at him, Yukio could sense the sickness within this great digimon. Breezemon took a breath, sensing it as well. Garurumon dipped his head to the great digimon and said, "Lord Zudomon… the Boss has sent this Digidestined to help us."

"I am Yukio," Yukio told him.

"I'm Breezemon," Breezemon offered. "We can help you, Lord Zudomon… don't worry – you'll be better in no time!"

Lord Zudomon _huff_ed at that. He rumbled, "Don't worry about me… help the littler ones."

"But, my Lord," Yukio began.

Lord Zudomon waved a massive hand at him. It landed limply by his side when he was done. "Do not worry for me. I am more concerned with the welfare of the digimon of my Zone than myself -" he paused to let out a great cough, "— I know you're not the one who did this. I trust you to help the digimon."

"But, Yukio…" Breezemon pleaded, looking at Yukio. "We can't just leave him like this – if we do, he might not make it by the time we're done!"

"It's what he wants, Twinkle Toes," Yukio reasoned. "I can't make his see any differently…" _I wouldn't want to challenge him, anyway. Even when he's sick he looks like a terrifying opponent… I don't think Twinkle Toes and I can handle strength like that._

"Those who are sick are there," Lord Zudomon told them. He gestured with his hand towards an icy corridor. "Go to them… I am remaining here – if the witch who did this to my people returns, she will not find me a weakling!"

"My Lord!" Garurumon offered, "In your state, you can't fight!"

"Silence!" Lord Zudomon rasped. "I was entrusted with the safety of this Zone… I will not allow some interloper to destroy what is my responsibility."

Garurumon opened his jaws to say something, but obviously thought better of it. He looked down at Yukio and Breezemon and said, "You guys go take care of the sick digimon – I'll stay here and make sure that Lord Zudomon stays alive until you get back. Hurry, though – I don't know how much time he's got left!"

Yukio nodded and said to Breezemon, "Let's hurry. I just hope we have the strength to do this…"

"We do," Breezemon said determinedly. She nodded her head and added, "Don't think any different, all right Yukio?"

Yukio gave her a smile and agreed, "All right."

* * *

Sin bundled herself up from the cold. She pulled her hood further over her face – if the wind blew it off, then her whole disguise would be ruined. She didn't want the Digidestined to know who she was – the Master said that revealing their identities to them here would allow them to find them in the Human World, and that it would be very, very counter intuitive.

_They are a bit smarter than I'd expected,_ Sin thought. _At least, from what Aws and Zen told me. It seems that they've already organized themselves enough to have made Namekura their leader – she's clearly the brains of the outfit._

Sin smirked at that thought. _Even though she's my enemy,_ she thought, _it's nice to see women being given important roles around here. The Digital World seems to be capable of recognizing the importance of a woman's mind…_

She waved her hand. DigiPower flowed from her fingertips and gathered before her feet, creating a circular platform for her to step on. There was no way she was _walking_ all the way to Avalanche Village – she would surely freeze before then.

_I've only got to deal with the quiet one,_ she thought. _That shouldn't be too hard._ Her breath puffed out before her face. She frowned at the thought of facing Yukio. It would be her first time facing a Digidestined. _He really did a number on those Kokatorimon I bribed… I thought for sure that those two would be able to overwhelm anyone who tried to stop my efforts in the Plains Zone. But, well, I guess I'll just have to take care of this myself…_

She reached into her cloak and pulled out a purple crystal. It glowed with black-and-purple data, filled with Aws's DigiPower. It was a temporary piece of his ability to control the minds of digimon and fill them with hatred and obedience towards their masters. She had one shot with it, and she figured she'd have to find a good time to take it, since Aws wasn't here.

_I'm not worried about failing,_ she thought, _I'm more worried about those boys messing up…_ She figured that Aws would do his best not to fail – he thoroughly despised failure. Still, since he had failed before to upend Wild and Nikolai, she was skeptical. Zen was a strange fellow, but Sin had confidence in him nonetheless. She was slightly more worried about Zen than she was about Aws, simply because Zen tended to become… well, a loose cannon when he was upset.

_I'll just have to trust them!_ She decided, putting the crystal back into her robes. She willed the platform she was standing on to move forward, and it did, transporting her quickly across the Taiga Zone. She followed the tracks of the Garurumon she was hunting.

She would have her prey soon.

* * *

Yukio leaned against a wall that didn't seem to be there. A cold sweat broke out on his skin, making his body sickeningly warm. He could hear his heart beating in his ears, and it was amplified to sound like a hundred other hearts beating at the same time as his, but at a different pace. He shook and shivered, trying to gain control of himself as a spiraling feeling took hold of him and dizziness clouded his vision.

He could feel all their sicknesses as if they had combined into one great monster. He saw the sickness as a formless mass of misty shadows, with two glaring red eyes that stared directly into his soul. It had gathered up all the sick digimon's Cores and was devouring them slowly, one by one, until none were left.

Yukio tried to stand, but the creature was too powerful – the sickness had infected too many digimon for his DigiPower to handle on his own. Had he bitten off more than he could chew? He had tried to tackle the sick digimon one at a time, but with them in such close proximity it seemed like the sickness had combined its strength and pulled him into… wherever he was now.

During his week off from the Digital World, Yukio had tried to think of how he cured the digimon's sickness with his DigiPower. It wasn't handled like a doctor suturing a patient's wound, or giving them painkillers or drugs – it was something different. He theorized that he took the digimon's sickness into himself and allowed it to infect his own body, so that his immune system, combined with his DigiPower, could destroy it. It explained why he was pulled into this strange world whenever he reached out to the disease.

_Twinkle Toes fights the enemies on the outside,_ he thought, pain lancing through his body from all angles, _but I guess I need to fight these enemies on the inside…_

A tendril of shadow reached for him, but Yukio waved his hand. His green-and-white DigiPower flowed from his hand and blocked the attack, gripping the shadows like vines. His DigiPower crawled up the shadowy arm about halfway before its power faded and it stopped. The parts of the shadow that it touched turned white and exploded into bits of white data. The shadow moaned in pain and seemed to bristle at him.

_I can do this,_ he thought as he stood up. _If I don't… well, I don't want to think about that._

Something laughed at him. _"Silly boy; you think you can stop me all on your own?"_ a voice _hiss_ed.

_You!_ Yukio thought. _You're the same voice from before!_

"_How observant,"_ the voice _purr_ed. _"Very good… but still – boy; you are on your own here. What a foolish notion – you cannot defeat me all on your own."_

The shadow cackled and shot a dozen arms at him. Yukio dodged about half of them, but the other half struck him in six different places. He fell to his knees and cried out in pain as the sickness attacked his body, spreading like fire across his skin.

Yukio heard a voice from the outside shout, "He's _not_ alone!"

_T-Twinkle Toes…_ Yukio thought weakly.

"I've got your back, Yukio!" she assured him. Yukio looked up, finding an image of Breezemon standing before him. She was nothing but an outline of pink light, her wings still as she apparently stood on the ground for once. Her fists were clenched and she insisted, "I'm going to help you any way I can!"

Wind rustled the world around him and he felt it pick him up. It touched his wounds and he felt them close. He felt the sickness leave him. The shadow monster reared back and snarled, and the voice seemed to be pondering his actions – Yukio could feel it sitting at the edge of this place, as if it were watching him.

_Gust,_ he thought, _Spirit Evolution!_

He watched as the wind took up the image of Breezemon before him. Her pink shape changed shape and she announced, _"Kazemon!"_

Strength flooded Yukio's body as a powerful wind blew through him. He could feel its air filling his lungs and limbs, and he clenched his fists. His DigiPower blazed forth and he took a step towards the shadow. It cringed and _hiss_ed at him.

The pink outline of Kazemon stood beside him. She said, "You have my strength, Yukio – I'm right beside you!"

Yukio lifted his hands and Kazemon emulated him. He focused his power, feeling Kazemon lending her strength to him. When it had built up, he unleashed it – a huge tornado came from his palms, green and white and pink in color.

It struck the shadowy sickness like a bat strikes a baseball, piercing straight through it. The tornado spread out from within the monster and everywhere the wind touched turned white and shattered like glass. Yukio let go of the tornado as it swept through the sickness, cleaning it up like a feather duster cleans cobwebs. When it was all gone, the inner world turned a pretty white color.

Kazemon's image disappeared, and Yukio fell to his knees, exhausted. Every limb her had was aching terribly, and he could hardly move.

* * *

A touch brought him back to the present. Yukio blinked his eyes and found himself on his back in the infirmary of the icy castle. Breezemon was sitting near him, looking pale and exhausted. She had a hand over his.

"We… we did it…" she panted.

"Shit…" Yukio gasped. "We did…"

He tried sitting up. He was capable of it, but it sent his head spiraling into dizziness. He touched his head with his hands and commented, "I… I think we bit off… a bit more than we could chew… with that…"

"Maybe," Breezemon breathed.

"But if you weren't there…" he realized, "I'd probably… be dead, or something…"

"Probably," she agreed.

"So… thanks," he admitted.

"You're welcome…"

They were silent for a moment, listening to the sounds of the formerly sick digimon rustling in their beds. Some got up and screeched with excitement, others seemed more subdued about their being cured. Others shouting their gratitude to Yukio and Breezemon as loud as they could.

_I realize that you all thought you were going to die,_ he thought to himself, _but can't you all be quiet about it?_

Breezemon threw him a sympathetic look. She opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted as the entirety of the castle shook on its foundations. Yukio nearly fell onto his back again, but Breezemon was up on her wings immediately to help him stay still. The rumbling of the castle faded, leaving the digimon inside the icy infirmary to mutter about in confusion.

"What was that?" Yukio wondered.

"I don't know," Breezemon replied. "But we've got to check."

"You don't have the strength to digivolve," Yukio reminded her. "And I can't do much, either…"

"I know," Breezemon said. "But we can't just sit here."

She helped him to stand on his feet and led the way to the source of the quake. Wobbling, Yukio followed, using the walls to help keep him from falling.

* * *

They entered the foyer of the castle to find that some of it had crumbled. A few pillars lay on the ground in an icy, snowy mess. Some were melted and were steaming with hot hair. Drips of water touched the ground and Yukio's head. He shook them off, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he looked out to the middle of the foyer.

Garurumon stood there, his limbs shaking and his fur bristling. His tail lashed here and there, and growls escaped his throat. He shook his great head and howled, backing up a few paces before jumping forwards, as if he were trying to buck someone off of his back.

"Stay still, will you?" someone complained.

Yukio looked closer and saw that there was indeed someone on Garurumon's back. They were cloaked from head to toe, and only their mouth was visible. They had a hand raised up in the air, and clenched between their fingers was a purple crystal that seemed to be emanating an evil aura.

Garurumon let out a baleful howl as his struggling began to lessen. He spat blue fire and tried his best, but his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed.

"_Garurumon!"_ Breezemon shouted.

"What the hell is going on?!" Yukio demanded.

"Stay back," the figure warned. They tapped Garurumon on the head and said, "I'm just here to take what I need. I'll be out of your hair in a minute… you must be Yukio! I've heard a lot about you…"

"_Sin,"_ Yukio realized.

"Yeah, that's me," Sin replied. She ruffled Garurumon's fur and said, "He put up quite the fight… he's perfect!"

"Let him go!" Breezemon demanded. She looked to Yukio, her pink eyes pleading.

_We can't do anything,_ he thought. _Not after fighting that sickness… I'm surprised I can even stand here right now! I definitely can't help Breezemon digivolve… and she doesn't have the strength to fight even if she did…_

Garurumon let out a pained moan and opened his eyes. They were redder than before, emanating malice. He stood up and growled at Yukio and Breezemon, baring his teeth. Sin patted his head again and said, "Oh, let them go – they're too weak to stop us anyway. We should be going, anyway – we need to head back and get you where you belong!"

"Let him go!" Lord Zudomon roared. His voice sounded stronger than before, though he still seemed very weak. He took up his hammer and roared, _"Hammer Boomerang!"_

Lord Zudomon tossed his massive iron hammer and it spun round and round towards Sin and Garurumon. Sin, panicking slightly, decided, "Let's make our exit!" She slapped Garurumon hard on the head and directed him out of the hammer's range. His long strides quickly placed him out of the hammer's range, though it missed by a fraction of an inch. The hammer spun back to Lord Zudomon, who caught it and roared with fury as Garurumon and Sin made their exit.

"Lord Zudomon!" Breezemon called.

Yukio looked to see Lord Zudomon stumble from his throne and land on his side. His whole body made the castle shake, and digimon of all kinds began pouring out of the halls to see what was happening. Lord Zudmon pushed himself up as best he could, shaking snow from his pelt. Yukio and Breezemon pushed through the digimon to meet him.

"Relax," Yukio told him, pressing a hand into his arm. He was still infected with the sickness, though not as badly as before. When Yukio had defeated the sickness in the other digimon, some of it must have belonged to Lord Zudomon as well.

"He tried defending me…" Lord Zudomon rumbled. "Sin…"

"She won't get away with this," Yukio promised. "But we need to help you before we go after her."

"Please… sit down…" Breezemon pleaded.

Lord Zudomon obeyed. The digimon gathered all around them, muttering and murmuring in concerned voices about what had just happened. Breezemon fretted over Lord Zudomon, checking his temperature and his pulse.

Yukio looked out the door to the Taiga Zone. He frowned and thought, _So she got what she wanted in the end… but why was she after Garurumon in the first place?_


	22. Episode 22

**Episode 22: Last One Standing**

Wild remembered the day Toushi left for college, three years ago. She was sure it was one of the happiest days of his life – the opportunity to finally go out and further his education. He wanted to be a doctor. He wanted to cure people's illnesses. He wanted to prevent as much death as he possibly could.

He wanted to get away from her.

She stood in the living room, her toes curling into the polished wooden floor. She watched her mother hold Toushi close to her, her eyes wet with the thought of letting her son go. Toushi held Oha gently, his arms wrapped around her, his eyes full of sadness. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to leave Oha all alone at home.

But he wanted to get away from Wild.

Wild wrapped her arms around herself, her nails digging into the soft flesh hidden under her arms. It hurt, but she didn't seem to feel it. She looked up at her brother, his blonde hair looking soft, but couldn't meet his eyes. She would find the courage to do so someday, she knew, but for seven years she hadn't been able to do it. His suitcase sat beside him at his feet, and his other personal belongings were in his car. He was ready to go.

Ready to get away from Wild.

It seemed to be forever, but finally Oha stepped away from him. Her arms were still locked with his, and there was a soft smile on her face. She was so proud of him, Wild sensed. Why shouldn't she be? Toushi would make an amazing doctor – not because it was expected of him, but because it was what he wanted to do. It had been his dream since the day he could dream of such things.

_What is my dream?_ Wild thought, standing there, looking at her brother. He was ready to embark on his journey to make his dream come true – what would she do? What was her future?

"Mother, I have to go," Toushi told her softly. "I'll call, I'll write… I'll stay in touch."

Oha sniffled. She reached up and touched his face. She said quietly, "I know. But this is… Oh… I knew the day… would come; but I… I never expected to feel… like this. My boy is going out… and he's going to… to be great."

Toushi smiled at her. He leaned in and kissed her forehead gently, as if Oha were a delicate doll.

Oha smiled and brushed his blonde hair away from his eyes. "Your father would be… proud of you," she promised him. "Tekku, too."

It was such an innocent, innocuous statement. But that statement turned Toushi's eyes cold, and Wild felt her stomach turn sour. His eyes slid to meet hers. They locked, and Wild was frozen. In that look, Wild could feel all the animosity her brother felt towards her. It struck her like a punch to the stomach, and she had nothing to fight back with.

How could she fight back against her own brother? He had every right to feel the way that he did towards her. She didn't blame him for it.

"Mother," Toushi said, his voice laced with ice. "I'd like to say good bye to Tatsuya. Alone."

Oha looked between the two of them. Her watery eyes didn't seem to see the true nature of the look that Toushi was giving his little sister. She knew that her children didn't get along as well as they had before, but Wild was sure that Oha didn't understand the depths with which Toushi despised his little sister. She merely nodded and walked quietly away.

The two stood together in the living room in silence until they both heard the back door _creak_ closed. Oha was out in her gardens, losing herself amongst her flowers. Wild was sure she would be there for the rest of the day. It left Toushi and Wild alone in the house. Completely alone.

Toushi took a step towards her. Every fiber of Wild's being told her to kick him in the groin and run away, but now that she had met his eyes she couldn't look away. She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. The sheer power of his glare was what was keeping her still – it was like a vice around her body. She could only swallow and see what Toushi was going to do next.

He reached down and grabbed Wild by the red ascot around her neck. He bent down and pulled her close to him, so that their faces were level. He tightened the ascot around Wild's neck, and she gasped for air. He loosened it only a little.

"_You_ do not deserve to wear this," Toushi snarled. He twisted their brother's ascot, closing Wild's airways again for a moment. He left it like that long enough for Wild to beg for air. He opened her throat and Wild gasped. "After what you've done to him, this is _unacceptable."_

"L-Let go…" Wild begged. She tried to dislodge his hands, but he wouldn't budge.

"Why?" Toushi sneered. "So you can go crying to Mother? No – you're practically an adult now, Tatsu. You're lucky to have made it this far."

Wild looked at him, horrified. What was he going to do to her? What would happen next?

"I can't _prove_ that it is," Toushi growled in a low tone, "but I know that it was _your fault…_ and so do _you._ Tatsu…"

"Don't call me that…" Wild whined. "I _hate_ being called that!"

Toushi laughed cruelly at her. He tightened his grip on the ascot again and Wild gasped. When he was done laughing he loosened the ascot, allowing Wild to breathe again. He glared at her and promised, "I will _never_ call you _Wild._ You don't deserve to be called that. Not after what you did. It was all your fault, Tatsu."

"Please…" Wild begged, "go away. Go away and leave me alone!"

Toushi finally let her go. She crashed onto her back on the floor. He did nothing to help her up. Wild coughed and loosened the ascot around her neck. She struggled with it until it was perfect – the way it was before Toushi had messed it up.

He looked down at her, disappointment in his eyes. "You will never amount to anything," he promised. "Ever."

"Yes I will!" Wild insisted. She stood herself up and clenched her fists. "I _will!"_

"Quit trying to be someone that you're not," Toushi snapped. Wild visibly flinched at his words. "You think that by wearing his ascot and acting like him you'll bring him back?"

"No, I -"

"Face it, Tatsu," Toushi growled to her, "you will never be able to undo it. You'll never be able to bring him back. He's gone, Tatsu… he's gone, and it's your fault. _You killed him, Tatsu."_

The words struck Wild like a blow and she fell to the ground. Her eyes welled and watered and she buried her face in her hands. Toushi picked up his suitcase and sighed. He stepped away from her and towards the front door.

"You killed him, Tatsu… and no matter what you do, no matter how you change yourself, _he will never come back,"_ Toushi promised.

Wild tried to swallow her tears and muster up the courage to say something snarky back to him, but she couldn't. The weight of his words and the horror they struck within her were too much. She could only look up to him.

"For all the anger I feel towards you," Toushi began, "I find myself incapable of truly hating you. Perhaps the reason for that is because, despite it all, you're my sister. Some part of me wants to think that it wasn't your fault, but I know what I saw that day. Nothing will ever take that memory away from me.

"Good bye, Tatsu. I hope, for your sake, that you and I never cross paths again."

And then he was gone.

* * *

Wild awoke with a start. Sweat beaded down her neck and coated her forehead. She was looking up at a ceiling in the Machine Zone's infirmary. Monochromon had taken she and Flamemon here to rest after they'd fixed the broken reactor. It was all flooding back now. She sat up, her arms wobbling.

Swallowing, she forced back the memory. She didn't want Flamemon sensing that she was distressed – he was so sweet, and she knew he would worry. She touched the ascot around her neck and swallowed again. Her stomach felt horrid – like a churning whirlpool. She felt bile rise in the back of her throat and she tried her best to keep it down, but she was unsuccessful at it.

She looked around frantically and found what appeared to be a trash basin next to her bed. She picked it up and vomited into it. Her stomach felt better afterward. She put down the basin and leaned back onto her pillows, breathless.

Wild pushed herself back up a moment later and got onto her feet. She found what appeared to be a sink in her room and turned it on. The faucet ran clear water down and she used it to clean herself up. She drank the water to wash the taste from her mouth and then looked into the mirror at herself.

The ascot hung around her neck, red as ever. She touched her neck and she recalled the feeling of it being so tight that the world grew to be nothing but haze. She swallowed and took a deep breath, thankful that she was here in the Digital World and not at home.

She suddenly realized that the ascot wasn't sitting right. She began fiddling with it, growing frustrated when it wasn't doing what she needed it to do. She undid it and then re-did it three times, still unsatisfied. Anger was welling up in her body and she swore when it still wasn't right the fourth time.

"Wild…?"

She stopped suddenly, panting. She looked to the door of her room and saw that Flamemon was there. He was looking at her, his green eyes wide. He stepped inside and approached her.

Wild was still as he reached up to her and took the ascot. He smiled at it and realized, "This is really important to you." It wasn't a question – he _knew._ Wild nodded in agreement to him.

He put it back around her neck. His big, clumsy fingers went about tying it while his face screwed up cutely in concentration. When he was done, it was just the way it had been. Wild looked in the mirror and touched the ascot, confused.

"How did you…?" she began, "How did you know it was supposed to be this way?"

Flamemon shrugged. He told her, taking her hand in his, "I could feel it, that's all. I know it's really important to you… that it has good and bad thoughts and feelings attached to it. I may not know exactly what they are, but I know, OK? Wild… you can tell me anything."

Wild looked down at him and smiled. "Thank you," she told him. She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling much better than she had before. "Come on… let's go meet Lord Andromon – I need to do some studying."

Flamemon smiled and the two walked out of the room together. As they walked, he sniffed the air and commented, "Your breath smells funny."

Wild laughed at him.

* * *

Lord Andromon received her in a large room that seemed to be filled with computers. Three screens displayed prominently in the room, one on each wall. Glowing wires were attached to the screens and led to somewhere out of the room. With every breath she took Wild could smell the technology, and it made her tingle to her fingertips.

"Whoa," she breathed, "what is this place…?"

"This is where we process and translate DigiCode," Lord Andromon replied robotically. He gestured to the screens. "As thanks for repairing the reactor, I will allow you to study the code that makes up our world."

Wild watched as incomprehensible code flashed onto one screen and flowed out into another. The last screen displayed a roughly translated version of it. As her eyes scanned the lines, she found that she could partway understand what the code was trying to accomplish.

"The code flows constantly," Lord Andromon told her. "If we were to try and work with all of it, our facility would crash under the stress… so we narrow down the functions and work with them as best as we can without causing a major shutdown."

Flamemon sighed and whined, "I can't understand what's going on…"

"Don't worry about it," Wild told him. She patted him on the head. "You can go play with Monochromon or something. Just give me a little bit of time to study the DigiCode. I know we need to get back to the Boss as quickly as possible – I'm just going to look at something in particular."

Flamemon hesitated. He mentioned, "Yeah, but I don't want to leave you – something might happen…"

"Don't worry about me," Wild insisted. "You shouldn't be stuck here with me if it bores you. Go have a little bit of fun – you deserve it after helping me with fixing the reactor."

Flamemon flicked his tail back and forth uncertainly. He frowned and murmured, "If that's what you want…"

Wild looked at him. He looked slightly dejected. She rubbed his head and promised, "I'm not getting rid of you, Flamemon – I just know you find technology uninteresting. I'd rather you go and do something that interests you. I won't be too long; I promise."

Flamemon nodded. He looked to Lord Andromon and asked, "Where can I find Monochromon, m'Lord?"

"He should presently be in the reactor room, monitoring it for any unnatural changes," Lord Andromon replied. "If you are to be playing with him, I would strongly suggest you refrain from setting anything on fire within that room. The results could be disastrous."

"I don't plan on it!" Flamemon said chipperly. He looked to Wild and frowned again. He took her hand in his and asked, "Will you be all right?"

"Hm?" Wild wondered, looking down at him. _Oh, right; earlier,_ she realized. She nodded her head and promised, "I'll be fine." _Why is it that this world is bringing out my worst memories for someone so young like him to see? I don't want him to see me like that… I don't want _anyone_ to see me like that…_

"You sure?"

"Promise."

Flamemon nodded to her and then left the room. She watched him go, frowning slightly. She hoped that she hadn't freaked him out earlier.

"Now, m'Lady, is there anything in particular that you are looking to learn about?" Lord Andromon wondered, when Flamemon was well and gone.

Wild looked to him and pondered. She figured that there were a lot of things about DigiCode that she wanted to learn about, but one very useful function stood out to her more than the other reasons.

"The Princess can use the Internet in our world to transport us here using a strange black portal," Wild explained. "I'd like to know how those are made."

Lord Andromon, if he could express emotion, would have probably raised an eyebrow. He blinked and told her, "Those are called Digital Gates and yes; there is DigiCode for them that we have translated. It does, however, require coordinates – so that it will take you where you need to go."

"Do you have those here as well?"

"Yes," Lord Andromon replied. "Here we have stored the coordinates to every major area of the Digital World. They are also at your disposal."

"That's great," Wild replied. She bowed at the waist and said, "Thanks."

Lord Andromon walked over to a console beneath one of the screens and began typing away. Streams of code appeared on the first screen and then passed into the next. When the last screen received the code, it was in a much more comprehensible form. Wild reached into her pocket and pulled out her Android – back in the Human World, she had theorized that since Yukio's 3DS had been able to function properly (though low on power), her phone should be able to do the same. Thankfully, she carried it with her everywhere outside of school.

She unlocked the phone and opened up her notepad application. She began copying the code into the phone, not missing a single character.

"What coordinates would you like me to give you?" Lord Andromon asked.

"Can you get me the location of the Boss's castle? Either the courtyard or the solar will do," Wild asked. She hated to be pushy and demanding, but now that she finally had her feet in the water that was learning DigiCode, she was excited to use it.

"Coming up," Lord Andromon replied. A little bit more typing on his part and suddenly the coordinates flashed up on the screen before her. Wild copied them down and labeled them appropriately, so that she wouldn't mix them up.

As she was doing this, Lord Andromon approached her from behind. He asked, "May I ask what you require this knowledge for?"

"I'm trying to build a program that will take me and the others to the Digital World whenever we want, instead of having to rely on the Princess," Wild answered. "I have a skeleton made already – all it was missing was this DigiCode. Your translations are rough, but they're useable… I can at least make a beta version for testing purposes."

"Would you like assistance?" Lord Andromon asked. "The device you are using right now seems to be a bit more primitive than DigiCode. With our knowledge and power combined, I am sure that we can create this program."

"Me… have your help?" Wild breathed. "That'd be amazing! Are you sure it's no trouble?"

"None at all," Lord Andromon insisted. "I am perfectly willing to help you in your quest to save the Digital World."

Wild smiled and offered, "Let's get started, then!"

* * *

Aws raised his arms over his head, stretching. He leaned back in his chair as Sin came into the room, twirling an empty crystal from its cord on her finger. Aws gave her a cheeky smile as she sat down and asked, "So it worked?"

"Like a charm," Sin replied. She slid the crystal over to him. Aws caught it and examined it. It was completely drained. "Garurumon gave me some trouble, but otherwise it went smoothly."

"What about Lord Zudomon and Yukio?"

"Lord Zudomon was too weak to properly defend himself," Sin said, pride in her voice at her own work. "And Yukio? Well, he was much too weak from battling the sicknesses of all the other digimon to do anything to stop me. Couldn't even lift a finger."

"Great," Aws _purr_ed. He then frowned and admitted, "I'm a little worried about Zen, though…"

"Oh?"

"Master shouldn't have sent him to the Machine Zone," Aws reasoned. "He doesn't like things made of iron… and he really doesn't like fire."

"Why would that… oh," Sin realized. She clenched her fist and swore, "Dammit… that sucks."

"I have no doubt that he'll succeed," Aws reasoned, "but it might be pretty difficult for him."

"Yeah, but he knows enough about Tatsuya to get in her head and mess with her," Sin reminded him. "He can use that to catch her off-guard."

"He'll have to," Aws sighed. "The way I see it, when it comes to pure power, Tatsuya's got that covered with Flamemon as her partner. I've fought her before; she's pretty strong. He'll have to be careful."

"I don't doubt him," Sin decided. She tapped her fingers against the table. "He'll do just fine. Besides – if it doesn't work, he knows what Plan B is."

Aws smirked. "Yeah, he does," he agreed.

* * *

Lord Andromon handed back her Android phone. Wires slid back from the device into his arm and he commented, "That should be what you are looking for."

Wild examined the code that Lord Andromon had written onto her phone. It was incredibly simple and easy to understand, but she would never have been able to do it on her own. She smiled up at him and offered, "Thanks – this means a lot!"

"It was no problem," Lord Andromon replied. He reached down and touched her phone's screen. It glowed briefly and the code disappeared and the phone shut off. When it rebooted, Wild noted that there was another application installed on her phone, called "Dive Gate". The image used to represent it was a picture of what appeared to be the Digital World itself – spherical, like Earth, but with so many different continents. "Unfortunately, it will not be able to take you to the Human World without the coordinates needed. Once you receive those, you will be able to go back and forth."

"Where can I edit the code?" Wild asked.

Lord Andromon tapped the screen without activating any applications and said, "Activate the program and then tap the _Edit_ button that appears at the bottom. It requires a voice activation to be able to edit the code. It does not matter what you say, but it must be _your_ voice."

"Damn, thanks," Wild breathed. "This is amazing!" Now that she had the code itself, she could edit it and export it so that Yukio and Nikolai could have access to it as well. It would make traveling to the Digital World so much easier. She looked around at the DigiCode that filled the screens – now that she had a taste of it and its capabilities, she felt like she should stay here and devour as much of it as she could.

_I can't leave Flamemon to his own devices for much longer, though,_ she thought, slightly disappointed. _I'll have to go find him and then get back to the Boss's castle. The others should be back by now… I wonder how things went?_

She opened her mouth to request that she be taken to the reactor room, but the room was suddenly filled with the blasting sounds of sirens wailing. A dozen red lights appeared in the room, emitting a noise that made Wild want to stuff her ascot into her ears. She looked up at Lord Andromon and demanded, "What the fuck is going on?!"

"The reactor," Lord Andromon replied tersely. "Something has happened. Come." He extended his arm to her. She took it reluctantly. Lord Andromon lifted her up onto his shoulders as if she weighed nothing.

A feeling of pain raced through her body, and she thought, _Flamemon! Please be alright… and please, _please_ don't let this be your fault…_

* * *

"I said _get off of him!"_ Flamemon roared. _"Baby Salamnder!"_ Flames shot from his mouth, hitting the ground around his enemy. Sirens wailed in the background, drowning out most of Flamemon's hearing.

Zen, perched on top of Monochromon, sneered, "Make me~" Monochromon tried to shake him off, but Zen had a hard grip on Monochromon's helmet and wouldn't be dislodged. Flamemon shot another volley of flames at him, but Zen only ducked behind Monochromon. The flames struck the digimon, causing him to moan in pain.

"Sorry!" Flamemon insisted.

"I don't care!" Monochromon roared. "Just get this lunatic off of me! _And don't hit the bloody reactor!"_

Flamemon nodded – he knew not to hit the reactor, or bad things would happen. He had been careful of it since he and Monochromon began playing together in here. And then, not too long ago, Zen appeared from nowhere and began attacking Monochromon! Flamemon didn't like Zen much at all and wanted him gone before he caused more damage.

"Oh, hush up you," Zen decided. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a little crystal. A shiver ran down Flamemon's body as he sensed evil power coming from the crystal. Zen pressed it against Monochromon's forehead and the digimon went wild trying to buck him off, as if he were suddenly in pain.

Flamemon bristled and crouched, flames burning all over his body. _"Rolling Salamander!"_ he shouted, lunging at Zen. Flames covered all of him as he struck Zen down off of Monochromon and onto the ground. They hit the floor with a _clang_ that vibrated through their ears.

Zen and Flamemon wrestled with one another, Flamemon trying to get rid of the crystal. He could sense Aws's DigiPower within, and he could sense it trying to get into Monochromon's head. Flamemon reached for the crystal, but Zen pushed him away frantically, trying to keep himself from catching on fire.

"_Stop hurting my friend!"_ Flamemon shouted. He spat flames onto Zen's cloak, the sparks catching on the fabric and starting a fire. Zen let out a shriek and punched Flamemon in the stomach, hard. The imp coughed, breathless, as Zen pulled away from him.

Zen stamped out the flames on his cloak and roared, _"I'll get you for that you little shit!"_ He turned to Monochromon and growled, "But first…"

He rushed at Monochromon, crystal in hand. Monochromon tried to back away, but Zen caught him by his horn and stabbed the crystal into Monochromon's forehead. Black-and-purple energy radiated from the crystal and covered Monochromon. The large digimon roared with pain and fury and anguish as his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed into a dark heap on the ground.

"Now for you," Zen snarled. He turned away from Monochromon and walked towards Flamemon. Coughing, Flamemon managed to sit up and recover some strength. Hands glowing with his DigiPower, Zen snarled, "I'll destroy you from the inside out and make Tatsu listen while you scream!" He reached for Flamemon, and the digimon backed up, prepared to light Zen on fire again to defend himself. He found himself unable to go further as he backed into the reactor itself.

"Not gonna happen!"

Vines, a very unusual thing to see in a Zone made of technology, came from seemingly nowhere. They caught Zen by his arms and pulled him away from Flamemon, revealing Lord Andromon and Wild, who was standing by his side. The vines came from her hands, which glowed with her DigiPower.

Zen laughed and grasped the vines holding him with his own hands. "Funny, funny, Tatsu~! But you're forgetting something important!" His powers of Ruination spread on the vines, causing them to disintegrate. Flamemon took that opportunity to tackle Zen again, flames blazing all over his body. Zen writhed and shouted beneath him, fighting to get Flamemon off.

"So, you don't like fire, do you?" Wild growled. Her fists blazed with flame now, and she formed a fireball between her hands. Flamemon could feel the Spirit of Flame within the fireball, and he could hear the roar of a great beast from within them both. "Then I guess you chose the wrong person to fight!"

Zen suddenly kicked Flamemon in the stomach, sending him flying off of her. He was up and on his feet quicker than could be said – when Wild's fireball struck the ground, he was already gone. Wild ran to help Flamemon sit up and they watched as Zen mounted Monochromon again.

"Sorry guys – I'd love to play a little bit more but I've already gotten what I need," Zen said cheerily. "So I'll be going now~!"

Monochromon rose and roared with anger. His eyes weren't the same as they were before – they were red with hate. He scuffed his foot against the ground and roared, charging at Wild and Flamemon. Lord Andromon let out a shout and got between them quicker than they thought the heavier digimon could move. Zen swore and steered Monochromon away from Lord Andromon, and they crashed through a wall, causing a great opening to the outside world.

They watched, shocked, as he trampled off into the distance.


	23. Episode 23

**Episode 23: Rise of Kimeramon – An Unbeatable Foe!**

The Boss frowned. Things were looking decidedly grim. He looked at the three Digidestined before him, the Princess standing beside Wild, and breathed a sigh of discontent. He had no idea what to do. He tapped on his desk and decided, "At least you drove them away from the Zones..."

"But they ended up getting what they wanted in the end," Yukio reasoned. "We failed, Boss – you can say it. We're proud but... not that proud. Everyone loses one eventually."

"Just... we can't afford to lose too many," Breezemon reminded him. She looked up at the Boss, her pink eyes pleading, "It won't happen again, Boss – we promise!"

"We can't afford to have things like this happen again," the Boss told them harshly. "Do you even realize what you allowed them to walk away with?!"

"And what might that be?" Wild wondered. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. She looked to the others and then said, "We have no idea what they were after with taking those digimon. You say that you do? Why would you keep something like that from us? We can't save this world by having all the important information being kept from us."

The Boss looked over them with thoughts in his eyes. What they were, none of the Digidestined or their partners could figure out. The Boss took a deep breath and then looked at KiddGarurumon. The large wolf nodded, as if there was a silent question deserving a silent answer.

He wrung his hands out and replied, "Kimeramon."

"A what now?" Nikolai wondered.

Beside Wild, Loaño's eyes widened. She growled, "Fuck."

"What? What's a Kimeramon?" Wild wondered, looking between she and the Boss. Her glare landed on the Boss and remained there. She asked, "Is it something dangerous?"

"Very," the Boss told her. To all of them, he said, "With the digimon that they have stolen from their Zones, our enemies intend to create a Kimeramon."

"Wait, they can _create_ a digimon?" Yukio blurted. "I thought that wasn't possible?"

"It's possible," the Boss answered. "The creation of Kimeramon isn't actually a _creation_ – it's more a _splicing..._ and there _is_ one man-made digimon in existence. It was made ten years ago and ten years ago it reverted into a Digiegg and it's been that way ever since – but that's beside the point."

"So... what digimon are needed to make a Kimeramon?" Nikolai wondered. "Just the ones that they took away from us, or are there more?"

"A Kimeramon in total is formed of ten different digimon," the Boss told them, "all of which have been stolen from their homes. Greymon, SkullGreymon, and MetalGreymon from the Volcano Zone; Angemon, Airdramon, and Devimon from the Heavens Zone; Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon from the Forest Zone; Garurumon from the Taiga Zone; and finally Monochromon from the Machine Zone."

"They took from the Volcano Zone?" Flamemon gasped. His eyes were wide and sad. The sadness was replaced by fury as his tail blazed with flames and he declared, "I'll burn 'em all!"

Wild put a hand on Flamemon's head to calm him. "Steady," she said, "we still don't know the whole of it."

"These ten digimon are taken apart and those parts are used to create a monstrous digimon," the Boss went on. "As for its power level, well..."

"Le's jus' say 'at I'd be 'ard presse' ta bea' it," KiddGarurumon finished.

Loaño went on to say, "Since it's made of so many Champion-level digimon, the power of all those digimon combine to form a very powerful Ultimate-level. With us in our current state, we'd have to be extremely lucky to be able to defeat it."

"So, we've just screwed ourselves," Yukio decided.

"Most likely," the Boss agreed.

"Oh, come on – do you really believe that?" Nikolai chimed in. He clenched his fists and said, "We can't just give up because they happen to have more firepower than us!"

"Can't we just digivolve our partners to their Ultimate forms to take them on?" Wild wondered.

Loaño shook her head. "With any normal digimon partner, sure," she explained, "being pissed off for a good reason _would_ grant you a new digivolution – but these three aren't normal digimon partners, and neither is Kidd. Flamemon, Breezemon, and Strabimon will only digivolve when _you_ three unlock more of their power within yourselves. They don't have the power to digivolve on their own anymore – they have to rely on you."

Nikolai looked to Strabimon, and the lean digimon nodded. "It's true," he affirmed. "We can only unlock new Spirit Evolutions when our partner's reach new stages in their own personal growth... and I highly doubt we can all do that in the time it will take for them to make Kimeramon, if they haven't already."

"Great," Nikolai sighed. "There goes _that_ plan..."

"Yes, foiled by a journey of self-discovery," Yukio complained. "Why must there always be a journey of self-discovery? Not every self needs to be discovered."

"So we can't force an evolution," Wild sighed. "Can't we just overwhelm it? Drive it back from whence it came?"

"That's possible," the Boss agreed. Then, he said, "But it's possible that Kimeramon has been... augmented."

"Augmented?" Wild wondered, an eyebrow raised. "How so?"

"Well, being a spliced digimon, Kimeramon really has no conscience," the Boss explained. "They could feed it whatever command they wanted and it would carry it out without a question. Not to mention that I'm sure that Aws is controlling it completely. Their master might also see to it that this Kimeramon is a great deal stronger than it ought to be – overwhelming it is a very, very risky decision."

_Risky decisions,_ Wild noted, _are not something a first-time leader makes... not unless I'm 100% sure they'll work. But we don't have time to work out the math on the odds..._

"What other option do we have?" Nikolai wondered. "I mean, we can be well-thought even when we're just barreling in to overwhelm it. It sounds like the only option we really have."

The Boss took a deep breath and then exhaled a sigh. "I guess there's half a brain in that perm of yours..." He looked to Wild and then asked, "Is that really what you're going with?"

Wild frowned. She really didn't see any other option. If this Kimeramon was so powerful, it didn't change the fact that it was just one digimon and that they outnumbered it. With attacks at the right places at the right times, they should be able to at least drive it back to its masters. They weren't going down without a fight.

She nodded to the Boss and said, "If everyone's in agreement, that's what we'll do." She looked to Yukio and Nikolai and their partners. She knew in her heart that Flamemon was on her side. Digimon that he had possibly known when he was younger were in danger – she knew he would do anything to save them from this horrible fate, if that was even possible.

"We're with you," Yukio agreed. "But we're going to have to think this through."

"Yeah," Nikolai offered, crossing his arms. "This time, rushing in half-cocked won't do it."

Wild nodded and offered, "I think I have an idea. KiddGarurumon and Agunimon are our powerhouses – they pack the largest punch. I think that those two should strike from the front, while Lobomon and Kazemon strike from opposing flanks. Their speed will catch Kimeramon off guard and should be enough to allow KiddGarurumon and Agunimon to drive it back."

"The plan could use a bit more fleshing," the Boss decided, "but it should be good enough. And what will you three be doing? You can't just have your digimon partners doing all the fighting – that's not quite fair."

Nikolai raised his fist and decided, "We're going to fight Zen, Aws, and Sin!"

"Right," Wild nodded. "We'll be doing that."

"I would like to get my hands on Sin after what she did to all those digimon in the Taiga and Plains Zones – wouldn't you, Twinkle Toes?" Yukio pondered aloud.

"Of course!" Breezemon agreed, punching her open hand. "She'll pay for hurting my friends!"

"Perhaps we can make Kimeramon see the light," Strabimon offered.

"And then blind Aws with it!" Nikolai finished, raising his hand. Strabimon smiled boyishly and they clapped their palms together.

"And we know what Zen's afraid of," Flamemon growled. He flicked his tail from side to side. "Taking care of him shouldn't be a problem! There's two of each of us and one of them -"

"Plus a very powerful digimon that you'll be mostly focused on driving away," Wild interjected.

"- we've got this!" Flamemon finished, grinning with his teeth bared.

The Boss chuckled. "The lot of them might actually make a good team," he noted to KiddGarurumon.

KiddGarurumon chuckled back, "Yeah, if'n they don' git themsel'es kill'd..."

"Wait, the _three_ of us?" Nikolai wondered, frowning. He looked around and then asked, "Wait, guys – where did Loaño go?"

"What?" Yukio breathed. He began looking around, too.

Wild frowned and looked about as well. Sure enough, there was no sign of the Princess in the solar. _She must have left while we were talking..._ She looked to the Boss and saw a strange sparkle in his eye. _Did he notice and choose not to tell us? Did KiddGarurumon know she left? They must have... or a bigger ruckus would have been made about it..._

Nikolai asked, "Where did she go?"

* * *

Loaño leaned against the walls of the topmost tower. The roof over her head shielded her from the light coming from the Light Area's sun. Panting, she leaned against the railing and closed her eyes. She had run all the way from the other tower, where the Boss's solar was located, to here. She was tired... but for some reason, she just had to get out of that room.

_All that talking of battles..._ she thought. _I want them defeated, but..._ The image of a lovely-looking boy with blonde hair flashed on her eyelids. He smirked at her lovingly. _Brother... I have to find a way to get you back from them... they've had you for far too long._

She looked out into the distance. She could almost feel her brother reaching for her, looking for help. She knew it hadn't been KiddGarurumon's fault that he was in their hands now – it had all been an accident – but he acted as if it was. In reality, it had been her fault.

_You took my place, brother,_ she thought. _Now I need to find a way to get you back._

_There is great risk in this, little one,_ he thought to her, the voice that she trusted within her mind. _We place a lot on the line for what you're thinking of attempting..._

_I won't let them get you,_ she thought. _I know what'll happen if they do..._

_You have a strong will, little one,_ he told her. _But you cannot falter. If you do, they will have you – they'll have us. And that it something that cannot happen._

Loaño clenched her fist and growled, "It _won't_ happen."

"What won't happen?"

Shocked, Loaño turned to find Nikolai there, walking up the remainder of the stairs to the top floor. When he was on the same level as her, he tilted his head and asked, "Why'd you bail?"

Loaño shook her head. Heart pounding, she thought comfortingly, _At least he couldn't have heard anything but that last part... thank Yggdrasil for the fact that we can talk with our thoughts..._

_Yes, I suppose thanks is in order for that,_ he thought back to her. He faded quickly from her mind, in order to keep her from being distracted. She Leaned back against the stone railings and said, "No reason... I just..."

"Hey, you don't need to tell me," Nikolai told her, shrugging. "If it made you uncomfortable, you don't need to tell me – you don't need to tell me why, either. Just... I thought you'd like the talk of beating those guys up."

"I do," Loaño replied. "I just..." She trailed her fingertip over the stone. It was smooth, but a little rough. Just rough enough to catch her finger on occasion. "I had something on my mind." _If we defeat them, then the chances of me finding my brother will disappear..._

"Don't we all?" Nikolai offered, sighing. He walked towards her, and suddenly Loaño found herself looking into his eyes. Heat rose to her face, and she saw it did the same to him as well.

He bit his lip and stepped a little past her, looking out at the view. "Wow, that's real nice," he commented in that strange accent of his. Loaño turned and looked as well.

"It's both the Light and the Dark Areas," she told him. "It transitions so nicely..." She stepped up to the railing and leaned over, her elbows resting on the top of the stone. "You should see it when the sun's setting... it's really pretty."

"I'm sure it is," Nikolai agreed. He copied her, leaning on his elbows. He crossed his hands beneath his arms, however, and his fingers brushed her skin. A jolt of electricity burned through Loaño's body, seemingly lighting her on fire, yet she was fine.

She looked up at him and saw that he was looking down at her. He gave her a smile and offered, "I'd like to watch that with you someday."

"Ah..." she breathed. "I... I would, too." She tried looking away from him – breaking the contact – but it seemed impossible. For some reason, his eyes held her there, and it felt good. For some reason, her heart was fluttering madly and her stomach was twisting – not in pain, but it was twisting all the same. She put one of her feet over the other.

_What is going on with me?_ She thought. The voice inside of her was silent as she found herself leaning closer to him. More to her surprise, he was leaning closer to her – she was afraid their faces might collide in a painful way (his nose was a little on the larger side), but that didn't happen at all. What really happened was a lot more confusing to her.

Her lips felt large and awkward against his, while he seemed to know what he was doing. What was she supposed to do – press more? Pull away? Open her mouth? Keep it tight? When he parted his lips a little, she did too, and that made it a bit easier. The contact sent little chills down her spine while her stomach burned for some reason. She felt him put a hand on the small of her back.

That moment of time seemed to last forever, until Nikolai suddenly pulled away from her. His face was redder than it had ever been before, and he was breathing heavily. For some reason she was, too.

"I-I'm sorry," he insisted shakily. He ran a hand through his hair and added, "I... I didn't mean for that to... to happen..."

Loaño could only stand there and stare at him. She probably looked dumbstruck – in fact, she felt that way, too. She had only read in books about things like that – what humans called a _kiss_. She had read that it could mean a lot of things, but she couldn't really understand what _this_ particular kiss meant. It felt... OK – she was sure it would have felt nicer if she had known what she was doing; but reading something and then doing it were two different things, especially when you didn't expect it to happen in the first place.

Nikolai sighed and told her again, "I'm so sorry, Princess... that was out of line..."

Loaño bit her lip. For some reason, it didn't really _feel_ all that out of line – it wasn't like it led to other things. She had read about a single kiss leading to, well, more kissing. It was only one kiss. Surely that wasn't the end of the world?

_But I'm the Princess,_ she thought. She blinked for the first time in what felt like a while. _The Princess... is that what's worrying him? That I'm a Princess...?_ Her mind was in a bit of a fog.

"We should probably go back," Nikolai decided. "Or... at least, me..." He stuffed his hands into his pockets. Though he seemed slightly abashed at what had happened, Loaño sensed that he had liked it.

The strange part was, she liked it too.

"It was... for luck," Loaño offered finally.

"Luck?"

"Yeah, luck," she said. She'd read a book where two people kissed for luck. Hopefully that would make him feel better about it – what else could the kiss have been for?

"But... you kissed back," Nikolai told her. "That doesn't really..."

"It was for each other's luck," Loaño blurted. "I'll be fighting Kimeramon with you, after all... Luck will be good."

"Yeah... OK," Nikolai breathed. "It was for luck." He took a deep breath and then exhaled, "Luck..."

_For luck?_ The voice inside wondered. He emerged only a little, prepared to hide away again should her response be unsatisfactory. She could sense that.

_Yes... luck,_ she replied, uncertain.

_Kisses can mean many things, little one,_ he told her, _and that one did not have an air of luck about it._

_Shut up it was for luck,_ she growled. _Just luck._

_Just luck? Alright then,_ the voice decided. He faded away again, chuckling to himself. _Just luck..._

* * *

"Everything's coming together, just how it ought to be," Aws decided, feeling very good about all of this. He raised his glass up and said, "Come on, guys – we did great. The Digidestined will be out of our heir, we'll finally have the Princess, and the Digital World will be ours. I think today went just fine."

Zen enthusiastically tapped his glass against Aws's, so hard in fact that the top of Aws's cup broke and some of the liquid inside spilled onto his cloak. Growling, Aws wiped himself off. Zen cackled with laughter.

"Don't get too cocky, guys," Sin advised, looking into her cup. "You forget that these guys have the Boss on their side – who knows what he might do to help them."

"There isn't much he can do," Zen reminded her. "He's supposed to help the Digidestined, not fight for them! The King of the Digital World made him vow not to be reckless – he'll be busy protecting those inside of his castle. Not to mention that the Boss is the Digital World's last line of defense if the Digidestined fail!"

"Which they have," Aws added, shaking his cloak. "All three of them."

"That doesn't mean that he can't give them an advantage," Sin said. She finished the last of her cup and stood. "We just need to look out for that. Come on, guys – we need to unleash Kimeramon. Let's get this done."

"We're gonna make them rue the day they messed with the three of us!" Zen cheered.

* * *

Loaño looked out towards the horizon. A feeling passed through her, as if the Digital World was crying out for help. She gripped the wall before her and shivered.

"What is it?" Nikolai asked. "What's going on out there?"

His answer came in the form of a roar that seemed to come from the tops of the trees. The world seemed to be shaking, and Loaño steadied her feet. She closed her eyes, trying to get a grip on what was happening.

_WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAH!  
_

She heard something explode. She heard trees splintering and breaking, falling and crashing into one another. She heard the sound of digimon screaming inf pain and confusion as they fled from the explosion. She heard Nikolai suck in a breath.

"Shit..." he said, exhaling. "What the hell was that?"

"They've released him," Loaño decided, opening her eyes. She saw the smoke rising from the Forest Zone on both sides. A small fire had started because of it. "Kimeramon."


	24. Episode 24

**Episode 24: The Princess's Sacrifice! Avenge Her, KnightGarurumon!**

Kimeramon was a truly monstrous thing – a hulking beast, taller than Wild had imagined. It looked to be a mashup of several digimon, as if someone had just glued their various body parts together. It's legs were the hind legs of the Garurumon that Yukio had befriended in the Taiga Zone; it bore two sets of arms, one torn from a Devimon, and the other a combination of Kuwagamon and SkullGreymon. Kimeramon's torso was that of a Greymon, explained Agunimon, and it's head was Kabuterimon's, much to Nikolai and the Princess's dismay. Wild was furious to see Monchromon's tail and Agunimon let out a growl at her side. Two sets of wings came from Kimeramon's back – one an Airdramon's, the other once belonging to an Angemon. Kimeramon stood before them in the wreckage of where he'd spawned, trees felled all around him.

Three cloaked figures floated around Kimeramon. They needed no introduction – Zen, Aws, and Sin, each floating on a platform made of their respective DigiPowers. They hovered over their creation with pride, Wild sensed, though Zen seemed to look like joyful child rather than one that was proud of its creation.

Kimeramon's appearance had shattered most of the Forest Zone in both the Light and Dark Areas; mostly the Dark Area. Digimon of all shapes, sizes, and ages crawled out from the wreckage to see the destroyer of their homes. Some fled, some stayed, awed by the sight of a digimon that, according to the Boss, hadn't been seen for a long, long time.

A tall ape digimon came from the Dark Area's side of the Forest Zone. He wore black and looked something like a ninja. He seemed fierce and strong, and Wild could only assume that he was the protector of the Dark Area's Forest Zone.

"Leave this place!" he insisted. "Or face my wrath!"

"Lord Gokuwmon," Loaño began. She stepped forward, and Lord Gokuwmon turned to face her. He bowed at the waist, his tail flicking back and forth. "Save the digimon of the Forest Zone – get them out of here. We'll handle this."

Lord Gokuwmon nodded and obeyed. He let out a screech and the digimon perked up. He leaped away and crossed to the less damaged side of the Forest Zone, digimon streaming after him. Wild figured he would make for Flower Haven and stay with Lady Lillymon to see that their peoples were safe from Kimeramon.

Kimeramon let out a hungry _hiss_ at the digimon as they crossed in front of him. Aws patted him on the head and cackled, "Don't worry; you'll eat them soon enough – we just need you to eat the Digidestined first."

"Like hell you will!" Nikolai spat. His fists blazed with his DigiPower, and Lobomon unsheathed his light swords. Light seemed to pour from Nikolai as he stepped forward and shouted, "Come down here and say that to my face, Aws!"

"Wheatley," Yukio warned, his arms crossed, "Calm down. It'll do no good to get angry and then killed."

"Yeah, listen to the pink-haired fool, _Wheatley,"_ Aws taunted. "Anger leads to the Dark Side."

"Please, Aws," Sin pleaded, a palm flying to her forehead, "I don't care if you're insulting him - don't _ever_ make a shitty _Star Wars_ reference like that again."

"Whatever whatever, guys," Zen giggled. "Let's just kill 'em and be done with it~! All this talking is getting me bored, quick."

"He has a point," Wild noted. "Talk doesn't really seem to get anything done with you guys, yet you seem to do a lot of it. We see your guns, you see ours – let's see which one wins."

"We'll make you pay for all the digimon you hurt!" Kazemon called, fluttering above the ground with her fists clenched. "You big assholes!" Wind gushed all around her, stirring Wild's hair. Yukio's hair and clothing didn't so much as twitch, as if the breeze didn't touch him at all.

Kimeramon let out an impatient, ravenous moan as the wind hit him. He clenched all four of his hands and snorted smoke from Kabuterimon's head. Aws patted him again and then floated away from his pet.

"Fine, then," Aws decided. "Let's fight! Eat them, Kimeramon!"

_"__KiddG_arurumon, Agunimon!" Wild shouted.

The two digimon leaped out front as Kimeramon let out a roar and lumbered forward. Each of his steps shook the ground. Wild held her footing, and so did the others. She frowned. _So this the power of an Ultimate digimon?_

KiddGarurumon and Agunimon lunged, striking Kimeramon's knees. Their effort pushed him back a few meters, but it didn't do what Wild was hoping it would do – Kimeramon was tougher than they'd estimated in the Boss's solar.

_"Death Claw!"_ Kimeramon _hiss_ed, raising its Devimon arms. They glowed purple and slashed down like knives. Thankfully, KiddGarurumon and Agunimon avoided the attack and struck with attacks of their own – KiddGarurumon barraging Kimeramon with punches while Agunimon struck with flaming kicks.

_"__Kazem_on, Lobomon – go!" Wild shouted. There was no time to waste – they needed Kimeramon down as quickly as possible.

The two speedy digimon flashed past their partners and reappeared behind Kimeramon, attacking. It seemed to be working – now Kimeramon was trapped between them, unsure of whom to attack. He lashed his arms out at all the digimon, but he was slow enough to dodge. He used his tail, too, but Kazemon lifted Lobomon before he could be crushed beneath it.

_It seems to be working,_ she thought. She smirked. _It's too soon to feel good about this, but I can't help it._

Suddenly, Zen was before her. He lashed out a fist and caught her in the gut. The wind was driven from her lungs and Wild landed back-first on the ruined ground. She rolled her to her feet as quickly as possible, flames kindling in her heart. She looked at him with anger.

"So, you're the leader?" Zen wondered. He crackled his knuckles. "I never understood it – why does fire always get to be the leader? Oh well – I really don't care. Time to get you back for what you did to me in the Machine Zone!"

He charged at Wild, who stepped out of his way just in time. Zen stumbled over a root and then Wild planted her foot on his buttocks. With a little push she had him sprawling on his hands and knees. Flames formed at her fingertips and with a wave of her hand the ground all around Zen ignited, trapping him.

Zen got up with a laugh. He seemed wary of the flames, but he raised his hands and the flames were nothing but ashes within seconds. He cackled, "So _this_ is the kind of fight you want to have, Tatsu? Come on then – let me see what you've got!"

_"__Quit callin_g me Tatsu!" Wild roared, a great beast echoing its roar behind her. She rushed Zen, her hands alight with fire. Zen rushed to meet her, his DigiPower responding in kind. Wild sent a wall of upturned earth at him, but Zen countered by sending a bolt of his own power to dissolve it into nothing.

"I'll call you whatever I want," Zen teased, as the remnants of her attack dusted around him. "Because I can beat you."

Meanwhile, Nikolai and Yukio were facing the same problem – their enemies were charging them, just as Wild had expected. Nikolai and Aws fought fist-to-fist, Purification and Corruption canceling one another out. Nikolai was a better fighter than Yukio had thought of someone like him, but Aws was holding his own.

Yukio himself was busy countering Sin's blasts of Death with his own Healing powers. He had no desire to figure out what would happen if he was with Sin's DigiPower, so he was doing his best to make sure that it didn't happen. He wasn't very good at this, though – he didn't really have time to practice. It seemed counterproductive to fight with a power that healed, but he figured that it was possible.

Sin laughed as she fought him, comfortable on her little platform while Aws and Zen wrestled with Nikolai and Wild on the ground. "You're so inexperienced," she told him. Yukio knew it wasn't a taunt so much as it was the truth. "You don't even know how to use your DigiPower!"

"No, but I know how to use _mine,"_ Loaño countered. A bolt of black-and-white energy struck Sin in the chest, sending her falling off her platform with a screech of shock and pain. She landed on the ground in a heap of cloak and limb.

Yukio looked to find the Princess standing by his side, her fists glowing. She smirked and said, "I've got your back, Yukio – they don't really need my help, and I won't stand around being useless."

"I would prefer you stay out of the line of fire but I suppose I can't stop you," Yukio admitted. "I won't deny your help, Hime-chan."

"We _really_ need to teach you how to remember people's names," Loaño sighed, shaking her head. "She's getting up – get ready!"

Sin pushed herself up, her cloak somehow disguising all her features despite its disarray. She shot a large blast at him, which Yukio countered with a blast of his own. Their powers collided and, with a flash of light, were smote by one another. _This is pointless,_ he thought. _We're just negating one another – nothing is really getting done here._

"It's not really a fight to see who can hurt each other the most," Loaño told him, as if she could hear his thoughts. "It's a fight to see who can last the longest. Since Zen, Aws, and Sin have no digimon partners to lean on when they get weak, they have no extra reserves of strength. Remember that."

Yukio nodded – she was right. Their digimon partners also held a bit of their DigiPower within them – if they grew weak, relying on them was an option. Though, as Yukio spared a glance at their partners fighting with Kimeramon, he figured they were going to need as much power as they could muster.

Loaño threw up a shield made of her DigiPower as Yukio shot his attacks at Sin. Sin's attacks struck Loaño's shield, causing it to flicker and then disappear – but it absorbed the attacks well enough. Yukio's shots missed, and he cursed.

"Don't worry," Loaño told him. "You'll get better at this. Just don't lose faith in yourself – if you do that, you lose your DigiPower."

_Gods, what is it with these sorts of games and corny stuff like this?_ Yukio thought. _Journeys of self-discovery, faith in yourself, all this stuff... so corny! But I suppose that if those are the laws by which this world operates, then so be it. I will defend it to prevent these yahoos from invading the Human World._

"Oh, you must feel real tough now – hiding behind the Princess!" Sin laughed. "You're all pathetic!" She hopped back onto her platform and began floating back towards Kimeramon.

"Oh, if we're so pathetic, then why are you retreating?" Yukio demanded.

"Because we've had enough of this!" Aws responded, kicking Nikolai in the ribcage. He hopped back onto his platform and laughed as Nikolai pushed himself up from the ground. Blood leaked from a broken lip and other cuts and scrapes on his body – for a moment, Yukio wondered if his Healing powers could affect humans. Aws floated above Kimeramon's head and raised his arms.

"Bye bye, Tatsu~!" Zen cackled, doing the same as his companions. He leaped onto his platform as Wild angrily shot streams of flame at him. Zen dodged them both and floated to Aws's other side.

"Kimeramon, end this stupidity!" Aws commanded.

Kimeramon let out a roar of fury and lashed out with all his limbs. He struck each digimon and sent them flying, where they landed back behind their partners. Pain lanced through each and every one of them as they sensed their partner's pain.

"Agunimon!" Wild called. She rushed to where her partner had crashed headlong into a fallen tree trunk. He was battered and beaten, but he was alive and all right. She knelt beside him and helped him to stand, sharing her strength with his until he could hold himself up.

"I'm fine..." Agunimon panted. "We're... we're fine..." Blood leaked from his mouth and his abdomen, and Wild shivered.

"This guy is tough," Kazemon complained airily. She stood, having no strength in her wings to fly. Yukio was at her side, using his power to cure her wounds. Kazemon snorted and pushed him away, saying, "Save your strength for after this fight, Yukio – if you use it all up now, you'll be doomed." There was something almost motherly about her tone, and Yukio reluctantly obeyed.

"We can take him down," Lobomon promised. He stood up, leaning on one of his swords. His scarf was in tatters, and his armor was severely dented from where Kimeramon's tail had lashed at him. Nikolai swore and cursed as he helped his prickly partner to stand.

KiddGarurumon was the most beaten of them all – Wild theorized that he had taken the brunt of the attacks from Kimeramon. Clumps of fur were missing from his body, and his figners were blistered and bloody from the tight grip around his iron knuckles. He had chipped a tooth and lost two others, and his tongue was cut from possibly being bitten. He had a fresh swath of new scars all over him. Despite it all, he held his head high and growled, "Leave 'im ta us."

"Shut up, Kidd," Loaño said quietly, worry in her silver eyes. She ran her hands over her partner's wounds and said, "You'll wear yourself down to nothing..."

"We need another plan," Nikolai stated.

Wild opened her mouth to agree, but Aws jumped down her throat and stopped her. "No," he said, "you all need to just die. Kimeramon – end them."

Kimeramon raised his head and opened his mouth. A great orb of orange energy formed between his teeth. _"Heat Viper!"_ the monster roared, unleashing the blast.

It had a radius that would have incinerated them all... had KiddGarurumon, Kazemon, Lobomon, and Agunimon not shoved their partners out of the way. Wild landed hard on her back and looked up, haivng time to shout, _"Agunimon!"_ before the blast hit.

The sound of it nearly broke their eardrums and was so hot Wild felt like her skin would be seared off like the skin and scales of a fish. She tried looking, but could only see a bright orange light with four dark sentinels standing before them, blocking the blast. She had to close her eyes, else she would go blind from looking.

When it was over, everything was quiet. Wild opened her eyes and looked behind her. The attack had incinerated most of the Forest Zone, on both sides. It had fortuitously ended just before the outermost walls of the Boss's castle, carving a path to his doorstep through the trees. Ash rained down from the sky as the remnants of the trees combusted and disintegrated. A few Digieggs of the digimon who couldn't escape the blast lay amidst the destruction. Thankfully no more harm had come to them.

Wild looked ahead and her heart nearly stopped. _"Flamemon!"_ she cried.

Her cry made the others open their eyes and notice what had happened. Yukio stood and rushed to Breezemon where she lay crumpled in the path of the attack, calling, _"Twinkle Toes!"_

Nikolai stood and shook ash from his curly hair. He ran to Strabimon and picked up his partner, shaking him and shouting, _"Strabimon, wake up!"_

Wild got to her feet and stumbled to Flamemon, feeling woozy. She fell to her knees beside him and grasped the little red imp by his shoulders and held him up. He was limp, but alive. Unlike the others, he wasn't burnt badly by the explosion. Wild supposed that being a fire-typed digimon had that sort of advantage. Still, looking down on him while he lay unconscious made tears come to her eyes.

"Kidd..." Loaño murmured. _"Kidd you idiot!"_

Wild and the others looked up to find her standing before KiddGarurumon. He was on his hands and knees – not quite beaten yet. Blood pooled below his jaws as it leaked from his mouth. Burns covered him and his fur was patchy and crisped. Yet he still looked up at Kimeramon with eyes like burning ice.

"These soldiers of yours are resilient, Princess," Sin announced. "They took a blast like that and lived! That's admirable. But they won't be able to survive another."

Loaño looked up at them, her eyes watering. Nikolai glared at them and shouted, "What're you saying?! You can't make him do that again!"

Aws laughed and patted Kimeramon's head. "Oh, I beg to differ – while he's under _my_ control, I can make him do whatever I want him to do," he countered with a sneer. "When I give the word, you'll all be nothing but ashes."

"No," Loaño said. She stepped out before KiddGarurumon, before the others, and threw her arms out to shield them. "No, I won't let you."

"Oh? And what're you going to do to stop us?" Zen wondered with a twisted smile on his exposed mouth.

_Oh, she had better not be thinking what I think she's thinking,_ Wild thought. Looking into the eyes of Nikolai and Yukio, they felt the same. That was clear. But still she said it anyway.

"Take me instead," Loaño announced. "Take me and spare them."

"Pup..." KiddGarurumon rasped. He reached out to her, but he was too weak to pull her back. His arm fell back at his side, limp.

"No!" Yukio snapped. A brotherly fury was in his eyes. "You can't do that!"

"It's what you want, isn't it?" Loaño shouted at their enemies, ignoring them all. "You came here to take me back to your master, didn't you?!"

"Think about what you're saying!" Wild shouted. "If you let them take you, it's over – we lose! The Digital World is gone, and so is the Human World!"

Loaño closed her eyes and ignored her. She called, "Just take me and leave them alone. Let them live – they don't deserve to die for me!"

Sin looked to her companions. She nodded to Aws and said, "Fine; come on over here. We'll spare them."

Realization seemed to flood Nikolai's eyes. He looked at her and then guessed, "You _did_ think this through, didn't you?" He swallowed and then said to her, "You... this is why you left... but why? Why give yourself up to them?"

Loaño finally looked back at them all. She shook her head and didn't answer Nikolai's question – she only offered, "I'm sorry." She walked across the ashen battlefield towards Kimeramon. Zen met her at Kimeramon's feet and grabbed her by the wrists. He pulled her onto his platform and pulled her arms behind her back. She grimaced, but revealed no other sorts of discomfort.

"Kimeramon, blow them to bits," Aws ordered with a snap of his fingers.

_"No!"_ the Digidestined shouting in unison.

_"NO!"_ the Princess cried. _"We had a deal you bastards!"_

"Sorry," Zen chuckled, "can't have them mucking things up~!"

KiddGarurumon let out a howl of rage. _"You won' be goin' nowhere with my pup!"_ he declared.

_"Kidd, no; don't!"_ Loaño shouted.

KiddGarurumon's entire body began to glow white. Data surrounded him like a tornado, and Wild suddenly realized – _Kidd is digivolving!_

_"__KiddG_arurumon digivolve to... KnightGarurumon!" he howled. The data exploded around him, revealing his new form. Steel armor filigreed with ice-blue markings covered his body, from his neck to his ankles, where his huge feet lay exposed. The bandages disappeared from his arms and were replaced with diamond-shaped plate mail that shone glossy. Huge shoulder pads in the shape of howling wolves' heads reared from his shoulders. A wolfs' head helmet covered his head, with long ear guards and a horn coming from the forehead. His fur turned white as snow, with the darker blue markings remaining, and a mane of white hair came from the back of his head and reached his waist. On his chest was what appeared to be a king's standard of some kind, but Wild couldn't make out what it was. An ice-white cape trimmed with silver flowed from his shoulders. The standard on his chest was decorating the back as well, in black thread. His iron knuckles had been replaced by a massive sword, bigger than the digimon himself and twice as wide. It was double-edged and was styled like a great sword, but looked to be made of ice.

Zen, Aws, and Sin flinched at his appearance. KnightGarurumon raised his sword and howled a battle cry.

"Aws!" Sin called, panic in her tone.

"Kimeramon – destroy them!" Aws ordered.

Kimeramon took a step back and generated another orb of orange energy. _"Heat Viper!"_ he shouted, sending the roaring tide of destruction at KnightGarurumon.

KnightGarurumon took his sword in one hand and, as the blast carved its way towards him, he swung. The blast hit the edge of KnightGarurumon's great blade at the right time and was sent in another direction, where it destroyed all in its path. KnightGarurumon pointed the tip of his sword at Kimeramon.

"You're next," he growled.

Aws looked shaken. "H-He... he _deflected it..."_ he stammered.

KnightGarurumon crouched and then jumped, leaving a small crater behind him. His hair and tail streamed like a second and third cape on his back as he raised his sword into the air and howled, _"Vinter er Stål!"_

His blade shimmered with white flames as he stuck it into Kimeramon's head. KnightGarurumon leaped off of the beast, removing his sword, and Kimeramon exploded into a cloud of data. KnightGarurumon landed on his huge feet as Kimeramon disappeared.

_"Shit!"_ Aws swore. _"Now_ what do we do?"

"We flee," Sin decided. "We have what we came for – we need to go."

Loaño struggled in Zen's grasp, cursing at him to let go of her. Wild felt Flamemon shift in her arms, and she looked down to find that he was awake. He blinked wearily at her and breathed, "Wild...? Wha... wha's goin' on...?"

"Let go of her!" Nikolai demanded.

"Le's see 'ow ya like a tas'e'a yer own medicine," KnightGarurumon snarled. He raised his sword and it began to glow again.

"Kidd – no! Don't!" Loaño pleaded. "You don't understand – I _need_ to do this!"

"I ain' lettin' my pup fall inna 'eir 'ands – not again!" KnightGarurumon howled. "Ne'er again!"

"Ser Kidd, stop this madness!" Loaño shouted, her voice suddenly different. "Will you listen for once? Try to understand... this has to happen."

Something in her voice made KnightGarurumon lower his sword. He blinked raptly at Loaño and then asked, "Is... Is'at an order?"

"Yes," Loaño replied, her voice calm and unwavering. "It is. I order you to stand down, Ser Kidd."

_What the hell is going on here?_ Wild wondered. Why was KnightGarurumon suddenly standing down? Why did Loaño _want_ to be taken by them? What the fuck was happening?! She held Flamemon close to her as he wearily began to shift and cough.

"What the hell are you talking about, Princess?" Yukio shouted. "This is madness!"

"Stop it, Loaño," Nikolai demanded. "You don't want this – you know that! What is going on?! You know you can tell us – we'll get you down from there and you'll tell us!"

"I am sorry," Loaño said. She pulled away from Zen and raised her arms. Three orbs of black energy formed in the arc between her hands, each crackling with green data. Before the three Digidestined could react, three Digital Gates opened beneath their feet, one for each of them. Their partners were cast out of their arms, rolling away and awakening.

Yukio slipped through first. Wild and Nikolai managed to get a grip on the ground all around their Gates, their bodies dangling into oblivion. Wild looked up, seeing Flamemon on his knees, unsure of what was happening. Breezemon seemed to have taken Yukio's hand before he could fall all the way through to the Human World as was trying to pull him back up. Strabimon had Nikolai's hands in his and was using all his remaining strength to heave him over. Flamemon took Wild's hands and tried to do the same.

Wild looked up at Loaño. Tears were falling down her face. Despite all the confusion, Wild understood something – _She has to do this,_ Wild thought. It was an absurd thought to be thinking at a time like this, but it came anyway. _She has to go with them for some reason. She gave herself up to save us, and ordered KnightGarurumon to stand down._

_She planned this._

"Flamemon, let go," Wild managed.

"What...?" Flamemon wondered. "Are you... are you nuts, Wild?!" He was straining, and Wild could feel he didn't have much strength left.

"I'll be back," Wild promised. She still had her phone – and the portable portal it held. "I'll be back soon – we all will. We're not strong enough to fight them now, even if KnightGarurumon is. Go back to the Boss – get strong again. We won't be gone long."

Flamemon opened his mouth to protest, but he shut it. His green eyes were full of sadness – Wild knew he didn't want to let go of her again. She felt the suction in the portal increase, and it pulled at her legs. She felt like she was being torn in two.

_"Yukio!"_ Breezemon called as she fell back, her arms strained. Tears fell from her eyes as the portal closed around her partner. She knelt beside it and scrabbled at the ground, as if she were trying to reopen it.

One orb disappeared from Loaño's hands. Two were left.

The suction was getting Nikolai, too, but his upper-body strength was fighting against it as he tried to pull himself up. He looked up at the Princess, and suddenly realization flooded his face. Wild realized that he understood what she had just come to understand, too.

"I'll be back," Nikolai promised her. "I'll be back, and I'll get you out of there... wherever you end up."

He let go of Strabimon and fell through. Shocked, Strabimon sat there, looking at the ground. Another orb disappeared from Loaño's hands. One left.

"I don't wanna let go," Flamemon pleaded. "Don't make me..."

Wild didn't make Flamemon let go. She let go of his hands and fell herself. _I'll be back,_ she promised as she sank into the void of the Gate. _We'll be back... and sooner than you think..._

The last orb was gone.

There were none left.


	25. Episode 25

**Episode 25: A Shining Girl Within Dark Cells**

Wild opened her eyes to find herself in Meg's room. Her heart was beating too fast to be natural, and she was shaking. Passing through that Gate hadn't been like it had been before. She looked at her laptop and found that it was proudly displaying her desktop. An analysis of the time stated that it had been about three minutes since she'd left the Human World. She snapped her laptop shut and swore.

She found her phone in her pocket, her hands shaking. She unlocked her phone and found the Digital Gate application that Lord Andromon had installed on her phone. She tapped it, finding that her screen went black. A little menu appeared in silver at the bottom of the screen, consisting of two buttons in white – one said _DIVE_, while the other said _EDIT._ There was also a small _CLOSE PROGRAM_ button at the top corner of the screen. She tapped that button and stood up.

_There's no time for testing,_ she thought, grabbing her laptop and tucking it beneath her arm. She stuffed some cords into her pocket. _We have to get back there and get the Princess back, before something horrible happens..._ If Zen, Aws, Sin, and their master took over the Digital World, the Human World would inevitably be next. If it was within her power to stop, Wild wanted to make sure that both worlds lasted through the night.

She was so absorbed in her plans that she didn't hear Meg enter the room, a glass of water in one hand and a glass of soda in the other. She set down the cups and asked, "Tatsu-chan, what's up? You look like someone kicked your dog. What was that phone call about?"

Wild looked up and met Meg's eyes. _I have to tell her, but there's no time to do it now._ She had intended to tell Meg about the Digital World before, because Wild figured that Meg was the only person who would believe her about it. Something had stayed her tongue for this past week, though, and she knew she wouldn't be able to keep on doing this.

"I have to go," Wild told her breathlessly. "There's a problem."

"At home?" Meg wondered, an eyebrow raised.

Wild pulled at her ascot. "No," she replied, "but I have to take care of it now. I'm sorry; I promise I'll be back soon."

Meg shrugged and said, "Go ahead, if it's that big of a problem. You look like you're about to break into a psychotic fit. Did someone rearrange your room or something?"

Wild rolled her eyes and said, "No. Look... I'll explain later – I just don't have time right now."

"Then hurry up, I guess – I'll be waiting," Meg decided. She went and sat down on the floor. She picked up her controller and said, "I'll just be killing people. I can't guarantee your soda will be here when you get back if you take too long."

"Thanks, Meg," Wild offered. _For being my friend, and for not asking too many questions..._ she added to herself. She turned and fled the room. Thankfully Meg's room was on the ground floor of her house, with her parent's room being upstairs, probably for privacy. To her knowledge, they had a small basement that served as Meg's mother's office. Jimmy's room was down the hall, but he didn't seem to be inside.

Wild ignored all of that, however, and made for the front door. Her muscles protested – her fight with Zen had strained them, not to mention trying to hold onto Flamemon before falling into the Gate. Thankfully Meg hadn't seemed to notice the bit of blood that stained her already-red ascot, or that she had dirt smeared on her back.

"Whoa, Tatsuya, where's the fire?" Meg's dad called from the kitchen. Wild stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, her heart beating fast. Meg's father was a kind-looking man, with pale skin and slightly longer blonde hair. His complexion and hair had reminded Wild of Toushi when she had first met him, but Damien Bourke had proved he was nothing like her brother, and seemed to sense that Wild was in need of a kind figure in her life. He, unlike Meg, noticed her haggard appearance. "Are you alright?"

Wild bit her lip, trying to formulate an excuse. Jimmy poked his blonde-haired head out of the kitchen and looked at her with wide eyes, a candy bar in one of his hands. Wild took a step back towards the front door, unsure.

"She's got something to do, Dad," Meg said, appearing from the hallway that led to her room. "Let her be, jeez. She'll be back, right?"

"Uh... yeah; I'll be back soon. Don't worry," Wild said shakily. "Just a little emergency popped up, that's all." _That was quite the understatement, Wild; yikes, when did you start lying?_ She thought. _I really need to tell her what's going on..._ She made a promise to herself to tell Meg when she returned.

"Well, be careful," Damien told her. "It's late. You never know who's prowling the streets at night these days."

Wild gave him a bow. She knew he was being kind and cautious for her sake, but Wild knew that they lived in a fairly nice neighborhood. It was bad in some places, but not here, she knew. She turned and opened the door, exiting the Bourke household, saying a silent _thank you_ to Meg. She shut the door behind her and began to run.

She pulled out her phone as her feet pounded on the sidewalk. Two or three cars passed her by, their headlights blaring bright into her eyes. They paid her no mind. Wild dialed Nikolai and put the phone to her ear.

One ring. _Pick up, pick up,_ she thought. It was hard to run with a phone in one hand and a laptop in the other.

Two rings.

Nikolai picked up on the third. "Wild?" he assumed, sounding serious. "What the hell happened?"

"She sent us back," Wild told him breathlessly, her lungs beginning to burn. She reminded herself to run more often – though she wasn't a weighty girl, she certainly wasn't in great physical shape. Spending most of your time behind the screen of a computer would do that to a person. "So we couldn't stop her."

"But why didn't KnightGarurumon stop her?" Nikolai asked harshly. "I thought he was supposed to protect her!"

"I don't know," Wild told him, her throat parched. She pushed on, though, determined to make it to her destination. "But I need you and Yukio to meet me at the café on the corner of Kagarame and Rō."

"I know where that is. What for?" Nikolai asked.

"I can get us back to the Digital World," Wild told him. "But we need to all be in one place. Can you do that?"

Nikolai paused on the other end. Finally, he said, "Sure – I can just borrow my Mum's car. I'll see you there."

"Good," Wild said. She took the phone away from her ear and ended the call. Then, she slowed to a walk. She was halfway to their set meeting place and she figured that it would take a bit of time before Nikolai and Yukio would be there. It was all right to walk.

She opened up the Digital Gate application again and then pressed the _EDIT_ button. Another screen replaced the black one, and she recalled that Lord Andromon had said that only her voice would open the restriction on the code editing feature. She took a deep breath and hoped he was right.

"Let me in," she commanded.

The screen suddenly changed to display the code behind the application. Wild breathed a sigh of relief.

This might just work after all.

* * *

Loaño tried to move her arms, but they were firmly bound. She could walk, at least; that was something... and she could see. She could remember. She looked around the place, trying to get a feel for where she was. It was nearly impossible – the whole place seemed to be shifting like it was made of snakes. She had a feeling that she was in a castle or a fortress of sorts, though. The place had a very... _cold_ atmosphere to it – the air itself was giving her goosebumps.

She was being pushed along by Sin. The other girl had a hard grip on her shoulder, guiding her towards... wherever. It appeared that Loaño had been taken to some sort of dungeon-esque place within this shifting, cold, castle; but she really couldn't tell. The rooms she could see were empty of prisoners, but they looked enough like cells to convince her that this would be her new home for a little while.

"Don't worry," Sin said. "You'll be treated well, Princess. Wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable."

Loaño bit her tongue and refused to reply. So long as she didn't give them anything, they couldn't have her. She wouldn't _let_ them have her. The voice inside of her head had been coolly quiet since they'd set foot in this place, as if he was worried he would reveal himself if he spoke to her.

_It's my job to protect you,_ she thought. _So I'm going to do it... no matter what._ She would use all her strength if she had to – she knew that Zen, Aws, and Sin's master must not, no matter what, get a hold of the owner of the voice inside of her head. While she breathed, it wouldn't happen.

They stopped before one of the cells. Loaño looked at it, trying to discern the details. It looked like a cell in an insane asylum (though she wasn't quite sure what one of those was); a door with a small, barred window on it. A wave of apprehension washed over her, and she shivered. This place was too cold.

Sin opened the door with a wave of her hand – there was no handle, on either side. Loaño gazed inside to find that it was made of the same shifting, cold material as the rest of the place. There was a bed pushed up against one wall. Curiously enough, there was a barred window on the opposite wall that looked into the cell beside hers. _Why would they want me to look in on another prisoner? Or nothing, if that cell's uninhabited?_

Loaño felt her bindings release; but before she could do anything, she was shoved into the room. She landed on her hands and knees, and she heard the door shut behind her. Loaño pushed herself to her feet and rushed at the door, banging against it with her fists. Sin laughed at the clamor she was making and walked away, cackling, "Sweet dreams, Princess!"

Swearing, Loaño tried using her DigiPower. The energy formed, but when she commanded it to strike the door down, the wall absorbed the blast. She swore again. In hindsight, she decided that she should have planned a little better. Of course, she'd had no idea what to expect when she gave herself up – she knew that she would be taken to their headquarters eventually, but even she had no idea what Zone she was in right now. They had blindfolded her soon after they retreated.

There were no other windows in her cell but the one that opened up to look into the cell beside her's. Loaño swore, kicked the shifting walls, and then sat down on the bed. It was comfortable, for a prison bed. She had always imagined them to be harder than this. She wondered how long it would be before she was called upon by the master of this castle. She steeled herself – she was ready to deal with whoever it would be.

Loaño lay down on the bed, her knees bent up. She sighed and thought, _I'm sorry guys..._ Perhaps she should have confided in one of them. Frowning, she knew that they never would have allowed her to go.

A moan broke her out of her thoughts. Loaño sat up and asked, "Who's there?" She looked over into the other cell. It hadn't looked like there was someone else there when she came in. She stood up and walked over to the bars.

She took the bars in her hands and slid down, to her knees. She pressed her face into the bars, trying to see. The lack of light in this place made it hard to discern details of any kind. She tried to stick her arm through the bars, but she realized quickly that they would get stuck.

"Who's there?" she asked again, louder this time. Perhaps they were hard of hearing? She wondered how long they had been in the cell, and why. She could hear their labored breathing now – they sounded hurt.

"Finally..." The voice came from a corner of the cell that Loaño couldn't see. It was weak, but she could feel their personality coming through. "Some company... I thought I would be destined to rot here alone."

_I know that arrogant tone,_ she thought. Her heart began beating – surely it couldn't have been this easy? Were they all daft here? She swallowed and chanced to ask, "Prince Lucemon?"

Her heart was beating in her ears as she heard the occupant of the cell move. Suddenly, they came out of the shadows and into her vision. It looked very much like a human boy, who, if he were standing, would be about her size, if not a little taller. He had light-colored tawny hair that hung down in curls. His eyes were a beautiful blue with golden flecks. Purple markings covered his body, which was also covered by white cloth. Golden bands hung from his wrists and ankles. He would have passed for a strangely-attired human if not for the eight wings coming from his back, four on each side. They were feathered and white, but they looked dull in the dark, cold, castle. A pair of wings sprouted from his temples and reached up high, while another pair crossed at his waist.

He touched the bars, his eyes wide, and breathed, "Princess – _sister!"_

"It _is_ you," Loaño said happily. She took his hands in hers and smiled, saying, "I found you – finally!"

Lucemon's smile faded. Loaño tilted her head at him in confusion – wasn't he happy that she was here? Now they could escape together!

"You shouldn't be here," he said darkly, shaking his head. "You don't know what they'll do to you."

"What did they do to you?" Loaño demanded. _I intend to pay them back in full._

Lucemon replied, "The creature that holds this castle – they call it The Master – has been draining me of my power since I was brought here. He'll do the same to you... only it will be used for a more extreme purpose."

"I won't let it," Loaño insisted.

"You're so bullheaded," Lucemon spat. "Sometimes I wonder if you're stupid, sister – what possessed you to be brought here? At least tell me that you put up a fight!"

Loaño blinked at him, guilt tearing at her heart. She wanted to tell him that – she wanted to lie – but they both knew that she was an awful liar. She admitted, "They gave me no choice. They were going to use Kimeramon to destroy the Digidestined; I _had_ to do something. If they were killed, then the Digital World would really be without any hope."

Lucemon reached through the bars and punched her in the arm as hard as he could. Loaño swore, rubbing the now-sore spot. She snapped, "What the hell was _that_ for?"

"You idiot!" Lucemon growled. "Did you think sacrificing yourself was the _heroic_ thing to do?"

_"You_ did," Loaño retorted.

That shut Lucemon up. The boy looked away from her and then sighed. He leaned against the bars and grumbled, "I don't regret it, if that's what you're wondering. I couldn't let them take you, sis. Now look at what you've done..."

"I know, I know," Loaño complained. "I messed up – but I plan on getting out of here."

"How?" Lucemon wondered, a fair-colored eyebrow raised. "This place absorbs any sort of power you try to use against it. I'm sure it sends it directly to The Master, too. I've tried, believe me. The most we can do now it wait it out and hope that Ser Kidd and your Digidestined find a way to get us out." He paused and then asked, "Tell me about them, will you? The Digidestined, that is."

"Oh, right," Loaño replied. She knew Lucemon had been in here for a long time – some part of her just figured he already knew about them. She had no idea what sort of news he had been getting while he was stuck here. "There are three of them, a girl and two boys. They've connected with the Legendary Warriors."

"Interesting," Lucemon mused. "The Legendary Warriors, eh?"

"Yeah," Loaño replied. "There's Wild – her real name is Tatsuya, but she likes being called Wild - and she has the Spirit of Flame. She's their leader. She's an interesting person, to say the least. Her DigiPower is Creation, so she can fix what Zen breaks. She's got a really strange personality – I get the feeling that she's a lot different in the Human World than she is here. Her partner is Flamemon – do you remember Flamemon?"

Lucemon smirked at her, a bittersweet look in his eyes. "Yes, yes I do."

"He's a real cutie, to be honest," Loaño told him. "He's really sweet, and he loves Wild like she's his big sister. Then there's Yukio – he's got glasses and he's kind of tall. He's quiet, but he's really nice. He has the Spirit of Wind and the DigiPower of Healing. He has a hard time remembering people's names, though, so everyone has a funny nickname because of him now. His partner is Breezemon. She acts kind of like she's his mother or something, but she's got a real kind heart.

"Then there's Nikolai," Loaño went on. She paused, unsure of what to say about him. "He's... he's got dark hair and it's really curly and messy. It looks kind of like someone could make a nest in his head. He's got a funny accent, too; I don't think he's from where Wild and Yukio are from, but he speaks the same language that they speak. He has the Spirit of Light, and his DigiPower is Purification. He's... acts kind of funny, to be honest. His partner is Strabimon. But Nikolai... he acts kind of funny around me." She wasn't sure whether she should mention the kiss in the tower – she didn't know how Lucemon would react to that. She knew that if she told KiddGarurumon, he would rip Nikolai to shreds. _It was just for luck..._ she told herself.

"You like him," Lucemon decided.

"W-What?"

"You like him," he repeated, smirking. "How cute; my little sister has a crush!"

"I-I... I do not!" Loaño insisted, looking away from him.

Lucemon rolled his eyes and said, "Sis, you're a horrible liar. Look; there's nothing wrong with having a little crush. He's a human, and so are you. There's nothing at all wrong with that. But I wouldn't mention it too loudly in these walls – I'm pretty sure they can hear all that we're saying to one another. They put us in adjoined cells for a reason, sis... and it wasn't so that we could have a nice little family reunion."

Loaño nodded. She insisted to herself inwardly that she didn't have a "crush" (whatever that was) on Nikolai. The voice gave her no response. Lucemon looked into her eyes, his own filled with worry instead of condescension, as they usually were. _He's worried about you,_ she thought to the voice. _But he knows he cannot dare to ask._

"I'm sorry," she told him. "I know you put yourself in danger because of me, but... I didn't mean to throw it all away."

Lucemon reached his hand through the bars and touched her face. He gave her a brotherly smile and told her, "Don't be sorry, sis. It's what brothers do; they're supposed to protect their little sisters."

Loaño was comforted by that, but guilt still settled in her stomach. Lucemon removed his hand and leaned against the wall beside the bars. Loaño did the same, but sat at the opposite end so that they could still see one another. She had found her brother, but how were they going to get out of here now?

She closed her eyes and tried to think, but she only ended up falling asleep.

* * *

Wild looked up as a pair of headlights appeared down the road. Three or four cars had passed by her as she sat on the sidewalk before the café, but none of them had Nikolai behind the wheel. The café was a small, quaint little place that served pastries and light lunches, and Wild wished that she hadn't come here when it was closed. She would at least have had a table to sit at while she waited out here – but they were all locked in the store now. A lone street light shone on the corner of Kagarame and Rō. That, along with Wild's laptop and phone, were the only sources of light here.

The car pulled up to the corner and parked. Nikolai got out of the driver's side and Yukio hopped out of the passenger's. They observed her, both looking tense and wary.

"We're here," Nikolai told her, putting the keys to the car in his pocket. "Sorry it took so long – my Mum needed a bit of convincing as to why I was taking the car out at nearly eleven o'clock."

Yukio pushed up his glasses and noted, "Thankfully my father wasn't home at the time. He would have _definitely_ asked as to why I was leaving the house."

"So, what's going on? You said that you can take us back?" Nikolai wondered, skepticism in his eyes.

"And why did Hime-chan do that?" Yukio wondered. "Why would she put herself in that position and then send us home?"

"She planned it," Wild replied. "I don't know why; but we all know someone who would."

"The Boss," Nikolai finished. He stamped one fist into his other open palm. "He would definitely know. But how are we getting back?"

Wild closed her laptop and then stood up. "When I was in the Machine Zone, Lord Andromon helped me out. He helped me code a program that would create a Digital Gate – that's what those portals are called – using my phone, so we can go to the Digital World whenever we want. I was working on translating the code so that your phone could use it too, Nikolai."

"What about me?" Yukio wondered. "I don't have a smart phone; just my 3DS."

"I was working on that, too," Wild told him. "Please tell me you've Homebrewed your 3DS?"

"The moment I got it," Yukio answered decisively. "It wasn't that hard."

"Good," Wild said. She bent down and pulled out a cord from her pocket. She reopened her laptop and it displayed a screen for Apple's store for purchasing applications. She pointed at the application she'd created and said, "Nikolai, download this. It will only be up for a few more moments, and it's free."

Nikolai pulled out his phone and began working on that. Wild beckoned for Yukio to kneel down beside her. He pulled out his 3DS and Wild plugged one end into her computer and the other into the 3DS's charge port. "This might take a minute," she warned him. Yukio nodded, giving her permission.

She fiddled with his 3DS and the Nintendo eShop until finally the program showed up. She began the download and set it aside while that was going on. It would take a little longer for the 3DS to download.

"Got it," Nikolai told her.

Wild nodded and turned back to her computer. She removed her application from the market and closed that window. The 3DS was nearly finished downloading. It's faint jingling could be heard loudly in the quiet night.

When it was done, she unplugged the 3DS from her laptop and handed it back to Yukio. "It might take up the majority of the battery power," she warned, "but it should work."

"Have you tested this?" Nikolai asked.

"No."

"Wonderful."

"But we're going to right now," Wild announced. She shut down her laptop and hefted it in her arms. She got her phone out and opened the application. "The coordinates will take us to the Boss's castle, in his solar. To be safe, we should go one at a time. I wouldn't want to end up inside one of you."

"I'll go first, then," Yukio offered. He opened the application on his 3DS. A soft green light shone from his screen. "What do I do?"

"Tap _DIVE,"_ Wild replied.

Yukio nodded to her and then said, "Well... I'll be seeing you." He tapped the option. Wild and Nikolai had to close their eyes so that they weren't blinded by the white light that had enveloped Yukio. When they opened their eyes, he was gone.

"You think it worked?" Nikolai wondered.

"I have no idea," she replied. "Wait a few seconds, and then try it yourself."

Nikolai nodded. They waited a few minutes before he held up his phone and said, "I'll see you there, I guess." He tapped the screen and another bright white light threatened Wild's retinas. Wen she opened her eyes, he, too, was gone.

_Now it's just me,_ she thought. She waited about five minutes, staring at the black screen on her Android phone. _I hope this works..._ She pressed _DIVE._

* * *

Loaño's eyes flew open to the sound of someone banging on her cell door. She must have dozed off longer than she thought. She stood up and heard Lucemon breathe cautiously on the other side of the wall. She looked out her small window and frowned. It wasn't the Digidestined, like she had been hoping.

It was Aws.

"Come on, Your Highness," Aws cackled. He opened the door and held out his hand. "Your presence has been requested by The Master. You are to come immediately."

Loaño looked back at her brother, where he lay on the ground. He looked furiously at Aws, and she knew that if there wasn't a wall between them he would be blasting the human to bits. Unfortunately, there was a wall between them, and there was really nothing they could do about that.

"If I decline?" Loaño asked.

"That's not an option," Aws answered, his tone cold. "Come on; it doesn't like being kept waiting."

Loaño took a deep breath and then walked out of the cell, not taking Aws's hand. Aws shut the door behind her and followed her closely. _If I were to run, where would I go?_ She thought. _He has no reason to be overly cautious._

She got a chill from the idea of seeing The Master. But she clenched her fists and steeled her resolve. She would give him nothing.

Nothing.


	26. Episode 26

**Episode 26: Crisis Zone Rescue Team – Go!**

"Well..." the Boss mused as Wild opened her eyes. He folded his fingers together on his desk and looked at them with surprise and amusement. "I honestly didn't expect that the three of you would be capable of returning. I know what Lord Andromon did for you, Wild; but I didn't think it would work."

It obviously had. The ride had been a little bumpier than before, but Wild was standing in the Boss's solar, all in one piece. Yukio and Nikolai were there as well, the both of them looking relieved that they had all made it. Yukio looked down at his 3DS and groaned.

"I'm going to have to find a different way home," he admitted. "That program used up nearly all my battery power, and there's no way to charge this here."

_I'll have to work on it a bit more,_ Wild thought, _so that it's more efficient._ Yukio closed his 3DS and put it back into his pocket. Her Android wasn't lacking for battery power, and she guessed that neither was Nikolai's iPhone. _But that's for later._

"When we get the Princess back, she can take us home," Wild assured him. She looked to the Boss and asked, "Do you know where she is?"

"Yes, I do," the Boss replied. Before he divulged the information, however, he growled, "How could you let her do something so stupid and reckless?! Do you realize what your folly will cause?"

"We think she planned it," Nikolai said, in the Princess's defense. "In fact, I _know_ she planned it. But why, Boss? Why would she go with them?"

The Boss looked to KiddGarurumon, who was angrily staring out the window. He was lashing his tail to and fro with fury plain in his icy eyes. Wild frowned. _She ordered you to stand down. She called you _Ser Kidd_. Why? Why did you listen?_

"To save Kidd the trouble of explaining," the Boss sighed, "and to save you from trying to decipher that lazy accent of his, I suppose I will take up the explaining. The Princess went after her brother."

That caused the three Digidestined to blinked in confusion. Yukio raised an eyebrow and asked, "She... has a brother?"

"Metaphorically speaking, yes," the Boss answered. "When the Princess arrived here, it was not Kidd or I who found her – it was the Prince Lucemon.

"Lucemon is a humanoid digimon – if not for his wings, he would look very much human. It also doesn't help that he and the Princess look very much alike – blonde hair, fair skin, etcetera. So, they saw each other as brother and sister. Lucemon and the Princess actually believed for a little while that the Princess was actually a digimon – but they soon figured out that she wasn't. It didn't stop Lucemon from treating her as a sister, and her treating him like a brother. Kidd found them both eventually and brought them to me for safety."

"So... does that mean Loaño really _isn't_ a Princess?" Wild wondered.

"No, she is a Princess," the Boss insisted. "Lucemon's older brother is the King of the Digital World."

"The King?" Nikolai repeated. "Well, where is he throughout all this mess? Why don't we just ask _him_ for help?"

"The King is... without, at the moment," the Boss replied. "He is missing, and has been for a long time." He glanced at KiddGarurumon, who was still staring angrily out the window, and went on, "Kidd here was one of the King's guards, the most loyal of them all, and before the King disappeared, he charged him with guarding the Prince and Princess."

"Lotta good I did," KiddGarurumon growled. He lashed out and punched his fist into the window, but it didn't budge or break.

"Stay calm, Kidd," the Boss warned. "I have enough damage to clean up as it is, thanks to that Kimeramon." He turned his attention back to the Digidestined and told them, "I myself was one of the King's closest friends and confidants. Before he left, he charged me with keeping an eye on the Digital World."

"I still don't understand what Loaño has to do with this," Wild cut in. "She's a human, not a digimon. There's no way she could have any relation to Lucemon or the King. So why would the King name her part of his family?"

The Boss frowned at her. "This, I cannot tell you," he answered. "So don't ask it of me. I won't betray the trust of my oldest and wisest friend; not even to you three, Digidestined."

"So what _can_ you tell us?" Yukio entreated.

The Boss stood up and leaned on his cane. He waved his hand, and a great roll of paper appeared. It was yellowed and torn, but when he unrolled it, Wild understood that it was a map of the Digital World. With another wave of his hand, the map laid itself out on the top of his desk.

"The Princess was taken to the Crisis Zone," he told them. He pointed with the top of his cane to an area on the map that was, well, blank. It was labeled _CRISIS ZONE_, but that was all it said or showed. "There is a castle there that houses our enemy, and she was taken there."

"But why would she go?" Wild wondered. "Why is Prince Lucemon there in the first place?"

The Boss looked at KiddGarurumon again. The huge wolf growled, "Jus' tell 'em."

Looking back at them, the Boss explained, "Not three months before you came here, Wild, Kidd here was with the Prince and Princess in the Forest Zone. They were just walking around, nothing particularly important. They were attacked by a group of digimon controlled by Aws. Kidd tore through them all but three, but he lost nearly all his strength doing so. In the end, they charged to capture the Princess... but Lucemon jumped before her and they took him instead. Kidd stopped all but the one holding Lucemon – he had gotten too far away. Both he and the Princess have been blaming themselves for Lucemon's capture ever since."

"So he threw himself in front of her to save him?" Nikolai summarized. "Sort of like she did for us; but why?"

"Because that's what brother's do," Wild replied quietly. She closed her eyes, images flashing behind them. She saw a dark shape standing before her, tall and strong and smiling at her. The shape then disappeared, and she shook herself out of it. She opened her eyes and thought, _What the hell was that? I don't really remember seeing that before..._

"Wild, you OK?" Yukio wondered, patting her on the shoulder.

"I'm fine," Wild insisted. She stepped forward and looked at the map. She frowned at the Crisis Zone. "What kind of digimon are in the Crisis Zone?"

"There aren't any there," the Boss told her frankly. "Digimon young and old know to avoid this place at all costs. The Crisis Zone once held a great evil power that ravaged the Digital World near to the point of total destruction many hundreds of years ago; but a group of Digidestined like yourselves and the King were able to seal it away here. After all this time, the seal has broken – all thanks to Zen, Aws, and Sin. Now it's going to try and do what it did last time – destroy the Digital World. When it completes that task, it will infiltrate the Human World through your technologies and ruin it as well."

"So we just stop it before that happens," Nikolai declared. "It won't be easy, but we can do it!"

"I should hope so," the Boss sighed. "Or we're all doomed." He gestured to the map and then said, "Your partners are in the infirmary. They should be fully recovered by now. I want you to head out immediately – there's no time to lose. KiddGarurumon will accompany you, whether I tell him to or not. Birdramon and Aquilamon will get those of you who can't fly as close as possible; but expect great resistance once you enter the Crisis Zone. Kidd, I would like you to take one of them and infiltrate the castle where she is being held and get her out."

"I'll go," Nikolai volunteered immediately, his fists clenched.

KiddGarurumon nodded his approval. The Boss nodded back and then went on, "It will be dangerous, but very well – Nikolai, Strabimon, and Kidd will do the infiltrating. Wild, I want you, Yukio, and your partners to do as much distracting as possible. Attacking the castle itself should bring out its defenses."

"What about you?" Yukio wondered. "Will you aid us?"

The Boss blinked at him. "Maybe," he replied. "If I see that you need it desperately. I'm not too keen on showing my face around the Crisis Zone, to be honest... but it may be worth it to show that vile thing that I'm still alive."

Wild pulled at her ascot and thought, _He knows way more than he's telling. He's hardly scratched the surface on the explanation of this place and what's happened with it. But we don't have time. Every moment we waste here doing all this planning is a moment where the Princess and the Prince are getting hurt._

"We understand," Wild declared. "We need to get going."

"But, what _is_ this thing that lives in the Crisis Zone?" Nikolai wondered.

"Too many questions, not enough time," the Boss decided. "Get going – and hurry. There isn't much time."

Wild nodded. She turned away and the others followed her as they left the solar. The Boss and KiddGarurumon remained inside. KiddGarurumon lashed his tail and growled to himself. The Boss sat back down and told him, "Don't keep blaming yourself. You're only one digimon. No digimon but you could have taken on this burden."

"I promis'd 'em 'at I'd protec' 'em," KiddGarurumon snarled. "I promis'd the King I'd protec' 'is brother; I promis'd... I promis'd _'im_ 'at I'd protec' his daughter."

"Then go and do it," the Boss told him. "Kidd, you know as well as I do how dangerous that monster is. Go; get them away from that beast before it can do to them what it did to the King. What it did to _all_ those Digidestined..."

* * *

"Master; the Princess of the Digital Twilight has come, as you've requested," Aws announced. He pushed Loaño roughly into a dark room. She stumbled, but didn't fall. The darkness was chilly and discomforting, but she embraced it as much as she would the light. She had to – there was nothing to do here but befriend the darkness. "I will be outside; send her out when you're done."

Then, the door shut behind her. The Princess was left in almost total shadow. She let her eyes adjust and then looked about the room. It appeared to be a completely empty room – there was nothing in it. It was huge, however; yet Loaño felt like the walls were closing in on her. Shadows and darkness shifted around her like smoke filled with life, and she stepped back, only to find that she was locked in. The door was gone.

_I will not fear,_ she told herself. Aloud, she said, "I do not fear you."

It responded, _"You should."_ She felt tendrils of shadow caress her cheek, and she pulled away from it. _"So willful, so stubborn. How could I expect any less?"_

"What are you, and what do you want of me?" Loaño demanded, her fists clenched. There was an enemy in this room, and she would fight it with all she had... just as soon as she could find it, that is.

"_I have been rude,"_ the shadows _hiss_ed. _"I am known as Crisis, Princess. I glad to have seen you again, after all these years..."_

"I don't know you," Loaño growled. She figured she would remember it, if she'd seen it before.

"_You don't know me, yes; but I know you,"_ Crisis replied. _"As for what I want of you, it's very simple, Princess – a very simple request. Tell me where the King of the Digital World is."_

"No," Loaño replied. "Never. I wouldn't tell you even if I knew where he was!"

"_You're a horrible liar,"_ Crisis determined. _"Much like someone else I once knew."_ She felt it wrap its shadowy arms around her, as if it were hugging her. She wriggled away from it and backed away, her fists raised. It was a solid when it wanted to be, but a mist most always. Though she knew her fists would do nothing, she felt comfortable with the ability to raise them anyway. _"You speak with the King's voice, child."_

"I do not," Loaño insisted.

"_Liar,"_ Crisis _hiss_ed. _"You may want to stop lying to me, child; I don't like that."_ She felt Crisis worn a hand with fingers around her throat. It tightened briefly, and Loaño gasped at them. She tried to pull it away, but it turned to mist when her fingers touched it; yet the grip remained, just as strong. It lifted her up off the ground a little. _"Where is the King?"_

"I will never tell you," Loaño spat. DigiPower surged through her body and rose from her fist. She struck Crisis with it, and it let her fall to the ground. The blast brightened up the room and revealed the great, shadowy creature. It _screech_ed terribly and dodged the blast she'd shot. It struck the walls of the castle and was absorbed.

Loaño stood up, but was knocked down. Crisis held her down like a vice and he _hiss_ed, _"Very well – I was hoping you would be smart and simply tell me. But I already know where the King is, and I will tear him out of you if I must!"_

"What the hell do you want with the King, anyway?" Loaño demanded, crushed beneath Crisis's hand.

"_I want to devour his power and make it my own..."_ Crisis told her. _"I will take your body for my own and use you to destroy the Digidestined and the Digital World! I want revenge for what he did to me – revenge! He sealed me here and forced me to sleep for hundreds of years... Now I have awakened, and I will tell you this – I did not sleep soundly."_

"I will never give you the King," Loaño growled. "Let me and Lucemon walk free, and there'll be no trouble."

"_You are in no position to negotiate, child,"_Crisis snarled. _"Impudent wretch. You have until the sun comes up for you to surrender yourself to me. If you do not, I will take what I want by force."_

Crisis released her, and Loaño sat up. She was catching her breath as Crisis _hiss_ed, _"Aws; get her out of my sight."_

Aws opened the door, and Loaño saw Crisis recede into the shadows. She stood up and pushed Aws when he tried to grab her by the arm. She turned to Crisis and growled, "If you think that I'm that easy to break, then you've got another thing coming, Crisis."

"_All humans break,"_ Crisis promised her. _"All it takes is some bending."_

* * *

She was tossed back into her cell most ungraciously. Loaño spat at Aws's feet, but all the boy did in retaliation was shut the door in her face. The door flushed with the wall seamlessly, and despite the fact that she knew the fruitlessness of such a thing, she slammed her fists against it. She glared at Aws out the little window until he was gone.

Frustrated, Loaño looked for any sort of seam or crack in the walls surrounding her. There was nothing – it was as if her cell was one single organism. She kicked the ground, wishing she knew if it felt pain. Was the inside the only part like this? Or was the entire castle made of this stuff?

She leaned against the wall and pressed her ear against it. Faintly, she could hear something akin to a heartbeat. She couldn't tell if it was her's or someone else's, though. _If Crisis has a heart, then I'll rip it out before I'll let it have you,_ she told the voice.

"So you've met our gracious host," Lucemon surmised, appearing before the bars that opened their cells to one another. "Crisis, it calls itself."

"I heard," Loaño groaned. She told him, "It wants the King."

"I know," Lucemon admitted, sighing. "When I got here, it asked the same of me... only, I didn't _have_ my brother."

"Lucemon, it said that I had until the sun rose again to give him up," Loaño told him. "I can't do that. I _won't."_ She clenched her fists and growled, "I promised that I wouldn't..."

Lucemon sighed and then said, "I agree. If my brother falls into its hands..."

"I know," Loaño told him. She raised her fist and looked at it. "Crisis was afraid of my DigiPower. I don't think it likes bright lights... like sunlight."

"If it gets the King out of you, it won't have any cause to fear anything," Lucemon warned her. "Crisis has been siphoning my power so that it can stand in the sunlight... but that's not its main concern. It needs a _form._ A body... and the one it wants has no vacancy."

Loaño shivered on the inside. She shook her head and said, "I won't let it have me, either."

"You're either very strong, sis, or very stupid," Lucemon admitted, sighing. "I have no idea which."

She crawled over to him and took his hand through the bars. She promised him, "We'll get out of here. I know it, all right?"

"Whatever miracle you're hoping for, sis, you'd better hope that it comes before sunrise," Lucemon pointed out. "Or Crisis will get what it wants."

* * *

_So this is the Crisis Zone..._ Wild thought. The sun was setting red and fiery on the horizon, just behind the Crisis Zone.

She found herself thinking that it ought to have been called the Pillar Zone – because of all the pillars. It was a huge swath of blackened land that looked like it could hold no life. Zones touched it all around, but they went absolutely no further than the multitude of pillars that surrounded the Zone in a huge circle. There were eighteen pillars in all – eleven were colored simply: red, white, pink, green, yellow, green, gray, dark brown, light brown, blue, and black. Three pillars stood higher than these ten, with two colors on each: blue and gold, pink and white, and finally green and gold. Finally, four stood at each cardinal direction: a black pillar with golden orbs surrounding it faced north; a vermillion pillar surrounded by red orbs faced south; an azure pillar surrounded by white orbs faced east; and finally, a white pillar surrounded by yellow orbs faced west.

That was the last of the pillars she counted. Aquilamon was landing. He touched ground just in front of one of the pillars. It was the great red one, and upon closer inspection Wild realized that it was decorated with carvings of flames. When they dismounted, Agunimon approached the flaming pillar and looked at it, mystified. He reached out and touched it.

"It's warm," he commented.

"Each pillar with only one color is said to represent one of the Legendary Warriors," Lobomon explained as he and Nikolai hopped off of Birdramon's leg. Kazemon and Yukio followed shortly after, landing nearby and walking to meet them. Lobomon pointed to one of the two-toned pillars and said, "Those are said to represent the Celestials – Ophanimon, Seraphimon, and Cherubimon. The pillars facing in the cardinal directions are the Sovereigns, the four digimon who guard the Digital World from disharmony."

"So why all the pillars?" Yukio asked.

"When tha' monster firs' show'd i's ugly face," KiddGarurumon began, clambering off of Aquilamon, "the King'a the Digital World us'd 'eir powers ta crea'e a seal 'round it."

"The Boss said the seal broke," Nikolai pointed out. "But all these pillars look to be in fine shape."

"There're two more," KiddGarurumon explained. " 'At castle's been built 'round 'em. The mons'er ain' strong 'nough ta lea'e 'is place, so 'e uses i's humans ta do the dir'y work."

Wild looked at the great black castle. A chill ran through her as she got the feeling that storming it wouldn't be easy. When night fell, it would be one with the dark sky. It was tall and flawless – it looked like it was made of obsidian or some smooth, dark rock.

"So how do we get in?" she asked.

"Nikki an' I will sneak in while you an' Yukio attack direc'ly," KiddGarurumon replied. "I'll fin' a way in... or I'll make one." He punched one fist into his other open hand and Wild got the message. He would do anything he had to do rescue the Princess... and the Prince.

Wild looked to Agunimon. He looked nervous, but his smile showed confidence. She tugged at her ascot and said, "All right – let's knock on the door. _Hard."_

Agunimon gave a toothy smile and his fists roared with balls of flame. "Ready when you are, Wild!" he declared.

"Me, too!" Kazemon offered, fluttering up to join Agunimon. The two of them smiled at one another, and a calming breeze flowed through the limbs of the Digidestined.

Wild looked to Yukio and said, "Stay back; conserve your DigiPower and use it to heal them if you need to."

Yukio nodded and stuffed his hands into his duster jacket's pockets. He looked ready – as ready as he would be. Wild wondered if she looked confident at all. She directed her attention to Kazemon and Agunimon and ordered, "I want you two to combine your attacks when we assault the castle. Only break apart when necessary. Stay together, and don't be afraid to draw upon Yukio or myself if you have to."

The sky was beginning to darken and stars shimmered in the sky, but Nikolai seemed to glow with his own inner light when Wild looked at him. He was staring at the castle with such a conviction that Wild realized, _He blames himself for the Princess being here. He was the last person to talk to her – the last person to convince her not to do this... and she didn't tell him. He wants to save her._

"Nikolai," she called. The boy looked at her, his olive eyes shining. "Be careful. We don't have room to fail this time. Get the Princess and her brother and then get out. Don't linger."

"I don't plan to," Nikolai told her.

KiddGarurumon cracked his neck and decided, "Le's get 'is show on the road, eh?"

Wild nodded and watched him as he digivolved. His long white cape flowed from his shoulders as KnightGarurumon stood in KiddGarurumon's place, his massive sword in hand and pale eyes shining in the darkness. He grasped his sword by the hilt and threw it over his shoulder. "Le's go, Nikki," he rumbled.

Nikolai nodded. Wild stared at the white beast and wondered just how he could digivolve without Loaño giving the command. Were digimon partners capable of _forcing_ themselves to digivolve, if their partner was at stake? Flamemon had changed to Agunimon when Wild didn't want him hurt – it seemed to be the same for the others, too. Could it possibly work in the opposite way? Or was Loaño and KnightGarurumon's partnership different somehow?

She didn't have time to think about it. The time had come. They were all ready. She pointed at the front of the castle and ordered, "Kazemon, Agunimon – _attack!"_

"_Salamander Wave!"_ The two shouted in unison. Kazemon waved her fingers and ten tornadoes plumed from her fingertips and flowed, twisted, and spiraled towards the direction that Wild was pointing. Agunimon shot flames into the windstorm, and suddenly flaming tornadoes were snaking and speeding their way towards their target.

When it struck, it blew a great hunk of the castle away. Debris rained on the blackened, ruined ground. Kazemon and Agunimon rushed forward, continuing their combined attack. Wild and Yukio ran after them, through the pillars and officially into the Crisis Zone.

KnightGarurumon followed, dragging his sword behind him; Nikolai and Lobomon ran ahead and through the smoke that was created from the flaming tornadoes, looking for a weak spot to make their entrance.

"Knock, knock," Yukio asked with a smirk. "Anyone home?"


	27. Episode 27

**Episode 27: Siege of the Crisis Zone – Defend the Others, Zephyrmon!**

Nikolai followed KnightGarurumon around the black castle, looking for a weak spot. The castle had no windows to speak of, and the whole thing looked quite impregnable. He wasn't sure whether they would be able to get it or not. But he knew that KnightGarurumon would find a way, no matter what – he wouldn't return to the Boss's castle without the Prince and the Princess. Not this time.

The castle gave off a chill, and Nikolai rubbed his arms. If KnightGarurumon or Lobomon were feeling the cold, they didn't reveal it. They were both wearing armor, after all – though Lobomon's was notably lighter than KnightGarurumon's. It was likely that they couldn't feel the cold.

Their feet and paws sent up puffs of dead dust into the air as the sounds of Agunimon's flames and Kazemon's hurricanes echoed behind their ears. Night had fallen – the sun was gone, and the Digital World was dark but for the stars and the three pale moons held up in the sky. In the corner of his eye, Nikolai could see the light from Agunimon's flames. Lobomon raised a sword of his, the light blade acting as a torch of sorts so that they wouldn't lose their footing.

Something _whoosh_ed past Nikolai's face, nearly slicing his cheek. He looked back to find that a large tentacle-like thing had emerged from the castle and was heading for where Wild and Yukio were mounting their joined assault. "What the hell was that?" he asked.

"The welcoming committee," Lobomon growled.

"Ignore it," KnightGarurumon ordered. "They're goin' fer Wild an' Yukio. Not us. The distraction's working."

Nikolai nodded and had no choice but to continue on. They would find a weakness in the castle, and soon. KnightGarurumon's sight in the shadows was impeccable, and so was Lobomon's. Nikolai's own eyesight might not be the best, but he was sure he would be able to figure out a place where they could break in.

It was KnightGarurumon who spotted the grate. It was impossibly small, but he insisted that he would gladly make it bigger. It looked to lead into some sort of basement, but Nikolai couldn't readily tell – the inside was just as dark as the outside. A tiny little trickle of water led into the grate – it was impossibly small, and looked quite out of place in the black wasteland that was the Crisis Zone. The water didn't look all that drinkable, either.

_Does everything living in nature die here?_ He wondered.

"Stan' back," KnightGarurumon warned. Nikolai looked up as he raised his massive sword and saw ten more of those strange tentacles coming out of the castle and heading towards the main gate. The castle had pointed towers and looked to have hundreds of rooms – any one of which could hold the ones they were looking for.

KnightGarurumon's blade struck down on the castle and cleaved the wall itself in two. He struck the grate and opened it a good deal wider, like he had promised. He and Lobomon grasped the lips of the broken wall and pulled them apart, revealing what appeared to be a dark, dank cellar that smelled of rotted water. The disturbing thing about the castle walls was that it seemed to be, well, not _solid_ – the walls that Lobomon and KnightGarurumon were holding looked more like thick pieces of paper than hunks of rock.

Nikolai didn't have much room to complain. He slipped through the hole and landed on his feet. The whole room was chilly and strange, the walls seemingly _moving._ Lobomon and KnightGarurumon leaped in behind him. Lobomon raised his sword and illuminated the area.

They were inside what looked like a small cell. Not quite a holding cell, but one that house supplies. Boxes of food, clothes, and several other things lay here unopened. The ground was slightly dampened by the tiny stream that had leaked in here, and it soaked through Nikolai's shoes. He swore as his feet became icy cold and looked for an exit. There was none. He swore again, and realized that he could faintly hear the _boom boom_ _boom _of the digimon attacking outside. He wondered if they were making any progress.

"Move," KnightGarurumon ordered again. He stepped past them and raised his blade to the wall, just as he had the grate outside. Nikolai looked back and found that the "door" that they had made to get into the castle had somehow closed itself. Oddly enough, even the grate was gone. There was no evidence of their entry. A strange feeling coursed through him as he wondered just what the hell his place was made of.

KnightGarurumon sliced another hole in the wall, opening it up to a hallway. He held it open as Nikolai and Lobomon slipped through. He joined them when they were safely through and the "door" shut seamlessly behind him.

Nikolai looked around. The hallway looked like any normal hallway but for the fact that it was made of that strange substance – but there were doors. The doors were curious looking – they had seams to them, and a small window near the top. The windows were barred. Nikolai's heart quickened.

"Guys, we're in the dungeons," Nikolai told them. "We _must_ be."

KnightGarurumon stepped forward and looked about. "Looks like dungeons," he admitted. Sword in hand, he said, "Le's look around. Free any digimon ya see."

Nikolai and Lobomon nodded in agreement, but soon enough they realized that there weren't any prisoners in the cells – they were all empty. As they walked up and down the hallways, they peered into every window they could – but they saw no one. The cells were equipped with a bed and... that was it. There were no digimon inside them, yet Nikolai got the feeling they weren't looking hard enough.

_She has to be here,_ he thought. _Where else would they put her?_ He didn't think they would be cliché enough to put the Princess in a tower, of all things. Those towers looked forbidding and unfriendly from the outside, and to get up to them they would have to travel through the castle. Nikolai was sure that they had already been noticed; if they were to traipse about the castle like they owned the place, they would definitely meet resistance.

KnightGarurumon knocked on the doors of the cells, giving whomever might be inside enough time to respond before walking away and doing the same to another. Lobomon cast a light through the bars to illuminate the cells he looked into, but he came away with nothing, too. Nikolai had no luck, either – for every two cells they checked, it seemed like there were ten more to look into. It was taking way too long – the longer they stayed, the likelier it was that they would be discovered. The thought was making him nervous.

"Guys, we'd probably have better luck shouting their names like we're idiots at this rate," Nikolai admitted with a sigh. "There just isn't anyone down here."

"You'd think that our enemy would have taken more prisoners," Lobomon noted.

"He prolly did," KnightGarurumon grunted, knocking hard against one door. He paused, then moved on to the next. "But I kin feel 'er near... she's close. She's in one'a these cells."

_You are her partner,_ Nikolai thought. _I suppose you would know where she is._

"Is that feeling getting any stronger?" Lobomon asked.

"Kinda," KnightGarurumon replied. "I kin feel 'er... an' the Prince."

"Follow that feeling, then," Nikolai advised. "Knocking on the doors of empty cells doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere very quickly, and I don't know how long Wild and Yukio can keep it up out there."

KnightGarurumon grunted. He closed his eyes and was silent for a moment. His tail flicked from side to side beneath his great cloak. After a moment, he opened his pale eyes and said, "Follow me."

He took off at a run down the hallway. Nikolai and Lobomon followed. As they ran, Nikolai realized that the hallway was practically endless – the walls just kept extending and growing new cells. It was as if the whole dungeon was some sort of optical illusion. It was making his eyes hurt. But KnightGarurumon kept running – he seemed to know where his Princess was, and Nikolai didn't doubt that. They had to find her soon, or he had a feeling that the castle would swallow them whole.

* * *

"This castle is a freak in itself!" Yukio decided. "What the hell is this thing made of?!"

"I have no idea," Wild admitted. "But we need to keep it up." She raised her hands and flames shot from her palms. The flames struck a wiggling tentacle and it shrank back towards the castle, but three more took its place. Agunimon drove them off with a well-placed punch that took one and slammed it into the other two. "We have to give them all the time they need."

Kazemon's leg was caught by a tentacle, preventing her from ascending higher no matter how hard she fluttered her wings. Agunimon rushed to her rescue, flames blazing all around him. He grabbed the wriggling thing and hit it so hard it let go. Kazemon sliced at it with a gust of wind so strong it ripped the queer thing in half.

_And I stand here, doing nothing,_ Yukio thought. His DigiPower wouldn't allow him to do anything until Kazemon or Agunimon got seriously hurt. He couldn't fight against the castle's defense system like Wild could with her Creation powers. All he could really do was watch the fight go on and shout encouragement to his partner, who didn't seem to need it.

"How much longer do you think we have until the Three Stooges make their appearance?" Yukio wondered to her.

"Who knows," Wild replied tiredly. She was using her own energy to keep the castle's defense mechanisms at bay, not delving into Agunimon's. She was getting weaker. "They could be on their way now, for all our luck..."

_If they are, we're screwed,_ Yukio thought, looking at the castle. _This is their place, not ours. Their strength is here. Aws will come out with some super-powerful digimon and attack us, maybe defeat us. Or they're inside, fighting with Wheatley and Solarion for Hime-chan and Kimi-kun. Either way, we're going to have to find some way to conserve our strength..._

One of the tentacles struck Agunimon in his gut, sending him on his back and stunning him. Kazemon rushed forth before the other wrigglers could get to him, slicing and dicing with wind at her fingertips. She fought back as many as she could while Agunimon got up. The flaming man stood beside her and the two of them sent a flaming tornado at the wrigglers, burning them to a crisp and ripping them to shreds.

Thirty more sprouted from the walls of the tower in an angry response. They rushed at the digimon and caught Kazemon around her waist. They began pulling her towards the castle. Agunimon grabbed her hand and was pulling her as hard as he could, his heels digging into the ground. He raised his wrist to fire off a few flaming dragons at the necks of the monsters. It cut down a few, but more only came in their place.

"_Kazemon!"_ Yukio shouted.

"I've got it!" Wild promised. She raised her hands and blades of fire came from her fingertips. They sliced at the tentacles, cutting them in half. Agunimon pulled Kazemon into his arms as they fell off of her body. Wild fell to her knees, panting and pale.

Yukio knelt beside her and put a hand to her forehead. She was cold and clammy, not to mention shaking. Her hands were smoking and when she moved them, they left a blackened brand in the shape of her palm behind. Yukio tried to use his power to restore her energy, but it didn't seem to work. _Dammit, does it only work on digimon? Or have I been weakened, too?_

"Wild! Wild, are you all right?" Agunimon wondered.

"I'm fine," she panted, "keep... keep going! We need to buy them enough time."

_But you can't do any more than you've already done,_ Yukio decided. He put one of her arms around his shoulder and pulled her up, allowing her to lean against him. She grunted, but that was all the protest she offered – as stubborn as Wild seemed to be, she knew when she was done.

_How long until they're done, too?_

* * *

"_Here!"_ KnightGarurumon roared. Before anyone else could move, he raised his large sword and parted the wall in two. He and Lobomon ripped it open as far as their strengths would allow, and Nikolai looked on in shock.

KnightGarurumon had accidentally torn a hole into two cells at once, so there was one end of a wall in Nikolai's face – but he could clearly see the Princess sitting on one side, and someone who looked very much like her on the other.

"Ser Kidd!" the boy exclaimed. For a moment Nikolai thought him to really be Loaño's brother – until he stood and wings spread from his back, limp and ragged but still amazingly beautiful. He looked to Loaño and smiled shrewdly, saying, "Well, it seems you were right, sister."

"Shame on you for doubting me," Loaño scolded, standing. "Let's get the hell out of here, shall we?"

"Gladly," the boy replied.

The two of them stepped out of the cells. KnightGarurumon and Lobomon shut the walls behind them. Lobomon knelt before them, saying, "My Prince..."

"So... you're Lucemon?" Nikolai guessed, looking at the fair-haired boy. He was as the Boss had described, though he seemed a bit more callous than Nikolai thought he would be.

Lucemon looked him over and then decided, "You must be Nikolai. My sister has told me much and more of you Digidestined. It is an honor to meet you, my Lord."

Nikolai's neck warmed at the formality. It seemed so strange for a Prince to speak like that. He rubbed his neck and then said, "I'm... not really anything special... I..." For a moment he wondered just how much Loaño had told her brother.

"We need to get out of here," Lobomon pointed out. "Before our luck runs out."

"I agree," Loaño said. "Lucemon and I have both met the master of this castle and trust me – its not someone you should be too eager to meet. We need to leave before it decides to handle this itself."

"Exactly," Lucemon agreed. He took a step, but he wobbled. KnightGarurumon caught him. "Thank you," he breathed. "I fear I'm not as strong as I once was... being here has... drained me."

"We are here to escort you safely back to the Boss," Lobomon promised, putting a fist to his chest.

KnightGarurumon picked Lucemon up and held him in his arms like a tiny, winged doll that had been dunked in a child's bath. KnightGarurumon looked to the Princess, who refused to meet his eyes.

"Yer not sorry," KnightGarurumon decided.

"Not truly, no," Loaño replied quietly.

"I know ya did it ta 'elp the Prince," KnightGarurumon said, sighing, "but 'at can' be the only reason."

"No, it wasn't," she admitted. "I wanted to figure out just who was behind all of this. And I have."

"Well?" Nikolai wondered. "Who _is_ it?"

"Something called Crisis."

"_Crisis?"_

"Yes..." Loaño said curtly, nodding. Then, she asked, "Has the sun come up yet?" When Lobomon shook his head, she said, "Well... let's get out of here before that happens. I don't want to be around when the sun hits that horizon and Crisis discovers that we're not here."

* * *

It didn't take long for the situation to get worse. All it took was Zen, Aws, and Sin walking out of the castle and onto the ruined plane of the Crisis Zone to make Yukio's stomach twist. Their cloaks billowed around them – yet revealed nothing – as they finally reached a stop in the middle of the space between Yukio, Wild, and the castle.

"Well, lookie at what we have here," Zen laughed. Wild shifted and growled, but made no effort to move. The wiggling tentacles stopped moving at the sound of Zen's voice. They hovered above them, waiting. Agunimon and Kazemon returned to their partner's sides, ready to defend them if need be. They were worn and tired, too, and Yukio had no idea how much more they could take.

"Some intruders," Sin giggled. "Thinking they can come knocking at our door!"

"Well, we've answered," Aws finished. "This little game of yours ends now. We know what's really going on – you're trying to get the Prince and Princess out. Where else would my dear friend Nikolai be?"

"It isn't going to work," Sin decided. "Once we're done with you two, we'll go and deal with them. Don't worry – it'll be over quickly." Her hands glowed black and gray and Yukio stiffened.

"Aw, I wanted it to be slow and painful," Zen complained.

"We need to deal with this quickly," Sin insisted, "or we'll be the ones in trouble. Now; Aws, Zen – trap them."

The two boys raised their hands. Black and purple and yellow mixed together as their DigiPower combined. The wigglers stationed above began to glow as well. Suddenly, they lunged at the small group of attackers. Without actually hurting them, Yukio and Wild were surrounded. When Kazemon and Agunimon tried to free them, they were wrapped up so tightly that their skin color changed. They were held up in the air at a perilous height.

Sin stepped forward, her whole body glowing. "Now don't be a martyr, Yukio," she said. "You don't have the power to deflect this. It's nothing personal; but you're in our way."

She placed her hands together. Black and gray light gathered there. Her DigiPower formed into a sphere about the size of a baseball. She grasped it like said ball, cranked her arm back, and then pitched.

Yukio raised his hand. The ball deflected off of his shield and dissolved into nothing.

Sin sighed in the distance. "Now, why did you have to go and make things harder?" she complained. She formed another ball and threw it.

It came faster, but Yukio still repelled it. A tiny ache formed in the back of his mind, but he pushed it away.

"Having trouble, Sin?" Aws mocked.

"Shut up," Sin growled. She formed three balls – two in her hand, one hovering above her – and shot all three at them.

Yukio deflected all three, at the cost of the growth of the ache in his mind. It turned into a pounding that reminded him of a Dubstep song.

"I think we need to step this up," Zen decided. He closed his hand into a fist. The tentacles writhed in response and suddenly Kazemon and Agunimon were screaming in agony as they were being helplessly constricted.

"No..." Wild gasped. "A-Agunimon..." When she moved away to go to his rescue, a tentacle rose and slapped her in the abdomen. It struck so hard it sounded like it broke something within her. Wild fell onto her back and the tentacles fell upon her, coming from everywhere at once and tying her down. Wild swore and kicked and struggled, but to no avail.

"Let them go!" Yukio demanded.

"Hold still and die!" Sin returned. She shot more blasts of her DigiPower at him.

"No!" He tossed them aside with a wave of his hand.

"Then they suffer!" Sin declared.

"_No!"_ Yukio shouted. A gust of wind blew through the Crisis Zone, so strong that it knocked Zen, Aws, and Sin off of their feet. Their cloaks spilled around them as they landed on their backsides. The wind writhed around the tentacles holding Agunimon and Kazemon, forcing them apart and letting the digimon fall to the ground. It lifted the tentacles binding Wild and she cursed as she stood up. Yukio raised his arm and the wind followed him. When he spoke, it was as if some beast was speaking the same words beside him: _"Gale – Beast Spirit Evolution!"_

The winds whipped roughly through the atmosphere before they caught Kazemon and spiraled her up into the air. Her entire body glowed as she breathed, _"Kazemon Beast Spirit Evolve to... Zephyrmon!"_

The winds exploded all around her and the glow faded to reveal a beautiful woman. She wore a purple jumpsuit that exposed her stomach and thighs and boots like bird claws. Armor covered both arms and sheathed her hands in claws. Brown wings came from her back, feathered and lovely. A black scarf was worn around her neck with a tail that reached her feet, and her mouth was covered by a purple cloth. Her eyes were bright and blue and her hair was silvery-blue and styled like wings.

Her claws glowed white as she raised her arms and then brought them down, shouting, _"Hurricane Gale!"_ Pink blades of energy rushed at Zen, Aws, and Sin, each like its own tornado. The three were swept up into the sky. Quick as a flash Zephyrmon was on the opposite side of them repeating the process and keeping them in the air for as long as possible.

When she was done she zoomed to the ground and then gave a nod to Agunimon. Raising their arms, they shouted in unison, _"Cross Fire!"_

Blades of flaming tornadoes rushed at the three falling humans. Before it could touch them, however, they each snapped their fingers and disappeared. The flames struck the castle instead and shook it to its roots. The tentacles shivered with the castle and then disappeared.

Zephyrmon cheered and clapped hands with Agunimon, smiling behind her half-mask. Yukio turned and held out his hand to Wild. She took it and he felt his energy surge through her, giving her strength.

"I hope all that wasn't on my account," Wild grunted.

"Sorry," he said back, "but I think it was on _all_ your accounts." He felt a stirring deep within him, like his power had grown into something all its own. He looked to Zephyrmon and said, "I feel... _stronger."_

"So do I," she said.

"Stronger or not, we don't have time for it," Wild decided. "Those three just teleported themselves back into the castle... before Nikolai and the others could get out."

* * *

"Does anyone happen to know the way out of here?" Nikolai wondered. "Because I don't."

"Well, how did you guys get in?" Loaño wondered.

"KnightGarurumon used his sword to tear holes in the walls," Lobomon replied.

"So just do that!" Loaño told them. "We need to get _out_ of here!"

"Can't you get us out of here?" Nikolai wondered. If she could make portals to the Human World, why not use her power to get them out?

"My powers don't work here," Loaño told him. "Anything that Lucemon and I put out ends up being absorbed by the castle and sent to feed Crisis. Kidd's sword is just a sword – it only has power when he gives it power."

" 'ere," KnightGarurumon grunted. He handed Lucemon off to Lobomon. The Prince grimaced at the passing but had the decency not to complain. Lobomon held him steady – he was weaker than KnightGarurumon, but he could still hold Lucemon as if he weighed nothing.

Hands freed, KnightGarurumon grasped his sword in one hand. The others moved out of his way as he carved through the wall, revealing the room behind it. They rushed through with KnightGarurumon at the head with his heavy sword in hand, slicing through the walls as they got in their way. They passed through several rooms that were of no significance – Nikolai noticed that some didn't even have anything inside of them; just empty rooms to fill up the castle.

"Uh, guys," Nikolai wondered after a few dozen rooms. "Are you noticing a... _pattern_ here?"

"Unfortunately, yes," KnightGarurumon grunted.

The group came to a halt inside of one of those empty rooms. Lucemon had perked up by then, and he was sitting up by holding onto Lobomon's neck and shoulders. He swore.

"What is it?" Loaño wondered.

"Crisis is trying to keep us inside," Lucemon told them. "It's using those humans to create more rooms and keep us inside the castle. It doesn't want us to leave so soon, it seems."

"Well, then, where is it?" Nikolai demanded. "Show me Crisis, and I'll kick its genderless ass!"

"Nikolai," Loaño said severely, her tone grave, "trust us; this is something you don't want to provoke any more than we already have. Look at what its been doing to my brother! You're not strong enough – none of you are. Not yet."

"How strong do we have to be?" Nikolai wondered.

"I... I don't know," Loaño replied.

"Stronger than the digimon that those sealing pillars outside represent," Lucemon said tersely.

"Oh, you guys will _never_ be strong enough," someone sneered from within the room. "Our master is unstoppable, and its growing stronger every day."

Nikolai looked around to find three of the four walls surrounding them opening. Zen, Aws, and Sin stood behind the walls. When they stepped into the room, the walls closed behind them like liquid doors.

"You guys are trying to leave?" Zen complained. "But we're going to be having a party soon!"

"Yeah," Aws growled, "one where we bash your heads in."

"Your friends outside might have stopped us, but we're not going to let you escape while you're in _our_ Zone," Sin snapped. "Not with _our_ prisoners."

"Let me down, Lobomon," Lucemon said quietly.

"What?" Loaño breathed. She turned to him and snapped, "Are you _nuts?"_

"No," Lucemon decided. "Lobomon; release me. I can stand."

Lobomon looked to Nikolai, uncertainty in his normally stolid blue eyes. Nikolai looked to Loaño and KnightGarurumon, who both appeared to be apprehensive about this decision. He looked back to Lobomon and nodded.

Lucemon's bare feet touched the ground without a sound. He wobbled on his feet, but was able to stand within a moment. His wings drooped, nearly touching the ground. He looked a sorry sight, but he didn't fail to impose a sense of power amongst them.

"Oh?" Aws wondered. "What's this, now?"

"Lord Nikolai," Lucemon said, his voice cold and stark. "I request something of you – allow me to borrow some of your Purification power, please."

"I... I can do that?" Nikolai wondered, dumbfounded.

Lucemon nodded. He waited patiently with a hand outstretched.

Nikolai reached deep within and allowed his DigiPower to shine brightly around him. Lucemon waved his fingers at the aura around Nikolai. Ribbons of light flowed from the aura and touched Lucemon – and for a moment, he glowed like an angel with his wings healed and white as snow.

He snapped his fingers, and that was all it took. The room around them shattered into pieces, revealing the world outside. They were within the boundaries of the Crisis Zone with the blackened ground beneath their feet and the castle a hundred meters away from them. Zen, Aws, and Sin gasped at the sudden light and took a step back, wary of their new opponent...

… but Nikolai's power failed Lucemon then, and he fell to his knees, dimming again. The power returned to Nikolai and was returned to where it belonged. Loaño knelt beside him and brought him up with her, his arm thrown over her shoulder.

"Well," KnightGarurumon growled, renewing his grip on his sword. "Looks like i's _my_ turn."

"Bring it on," Sin dared, her hands glowing black and gray. "Let's see how long you last when Death touches you."

"Or when I Ruin that pretty sword of yours and turn it to dust," Zen growled with a smile, his hands glowing black and yellow.

"Or when I turn you against your friends," Aws laughed, black-and-purple energy swirling around his fingertips.

"Or when we finally shut you the hell up!"

"Wild! Yukio!" Nikolai gasped. "You guys are all right!"

Yukio and Wild grouped up with them, Agunimon and a lovely winged woman in a purple suit by their sides. Wild gestured to the woman and said, "Everyone, this is Zephyrmon. Kazemon was kind enough to digivolve while we were out here."

"And I'm more than excited to take you all out again!" Zephyrmon said, her smile hidden by her mask.

Wild pointed at their three cloaked enemies and declared, "Get 'em!"

The digimon all charged but for Lucemon. Zen, Aws, and Sin took three steps back before running to their castle, their cloaks billowing behind them. The digimon chased them halfway before returning.

"Cowards," Lobomon declared.

"We did it!" Agunimon said happily. "We got them back!"

"Your Highness," Zephyrmon said, bowing at the waist.

"Save it, guys," Wild declared. "We need to get back to the Boss safely first – _then_ we can do some celebrating..."

The others agreed. KnightGarurumon stayed in his Ultimate form, but Zephyrmon, Agunimon, and Lobomon returned to their Rookie forms. Flamemon and Strabimon took Lucemon between them and helped him to stand, supporting him with an arm thrown over one of their shoulders. Though pride gleamed in the Prince's eyes, he knew better than to complain. Wild and Yukio led the procession back to the Boss's castle while Breezemon and KnightGarurumon took up the rear, talking about what had happened.

Light gathered on the horizon as the sun began to rise. Loaño was standing still while the others were moving, just staring at it. Nikolai halted when he realized that she wasn't following and backtracked to stand with her.

"Are you all right?" he asked. He remembered the tower and refrained from putting a hand on her shoulder like he wanted to. He didn't want to freak her out again – he hadn't wanted to freak her out in the first place, but that was done now and it couldn't be reversed.

"I'm fine," Loaño breathed. "But I want to be out of here."

"Then let's go," Nikolai said. He turned to leave, but she caught his hand and stopped him. He looked back at her and asked, "What is it?"

She didn't meet his eyes, but it looked like there was something on her mind. Finally, she said, "I'm sorry for putting you all through this. I just didn't know what else to do..."

"It's done now," Nikolai told her, "and it turned out how you wanted, didn't it? We saved you and your brother. No one got seriously hurt. If you're worried about Crisis, its sealed here, isn't it? It can't leave?"

"No, I don't think so," Loaño breathed.

_Not yet,_ he finished for her. _But it will be able to soon. She's afraid of it for some reason – really afraid. Maybe this Crisis isn't something that we should be joking about..._ "Come on; let's get you back to the Boss."

"He's going to kill me," she groaned.

"He's mad, but I don't think he's _that_ mad..." Nikolai chuckled. He pulled her closer to him and squeezed her hand. "I won't let him hurt you; or anyone else, for that matter."

"Are you trying to pull that knight in shining armor thing that human girls like where you're from?" Loaño wondered.

"I'm not pulling anything," Nikolai assured her, blushing. "I don't lie; not about things like this."

"Well... whatever," she sighed. "Let's just go. I need to face the consequences of my actions... hopefully he isn't as mad as he was that time I broke his ice sculpture garden..."


	28. Episode 28

**Episode 28: A Decision Is Made!**

The Boss wasn't as upset as the Princess had thought he would be – at least, not visibly. Wild had a feeling that he was hiding his frustration and worry behind that pale mask of his. When they arrived, he was the first to greet them and the first to rush up to the Princess and hug her, which was something that Wild hadn't thought him capable of doing.

An army of Swanmon from the infirmary had come with him, and they quickly took Lucemon away from Strabimon and Flamemon. With a wave of their wings, three of the Swanmon took the Prince back into the castle before he could protest. Meanwhile, the other Swanmon were busy fretting over the other digimon. KnightGarurumon insisted that he needed no help as he degenerated – just a nice, juicy steak. Strabimon submitted himself politely to examination, only to come out all right. Flamemon and Breezemon received a few on-the-spot bandaging, but that was all.

Then the Swanmon came to examine Wild and the other humans. She waved them away, insisting that she was fine. When Kazemon had digivolved into Zephyrmon, it had given Yukio's DiigPower the strength to affect humans as well – he had healed her of her injuries when he'd helped her up from the ground. Yukio was fine as well. Nikolai was a little groggy, but with a quickly-gotten cup of herbal water that was taken care of. Loaño insisted that she was fine and that all their attention should be devoted to Lucemon. When they were done, the Swanmon left.

All in all, it had been a successful mission.

"Come with me," the Boss decided. "We have much to discuss."

Wild set a frown on her face, but she followed anyway. The others trailed after. They followed the Boss up to his solar, which seemed to be getting bigger all the time. There was surely enough room for all of them to sit, stand, or lean. Another couch had been added for the sake of the number of people inside, along with two plush chairs. Yukio sat himself in one of those with a sigh. KiddGarurumon leaned himself against a wall, as always. The Princess paced. The three younger digimon sat together on one of the couches. With the Boss behind his desk, only Nikolai and Wild remained standing.

"First of all, congratulations are in order," the Boss began. "Good job to all of you for pulling this off. I thought I might have to step in and lend a hand, but I didn't... and good job to you, Yukio, for helping Breezemon reach her Ultimate form. With each stage your DigiPower grows stronger; surely you've felt the affects of that?"

"Yes," Yukio answered tiredly.

"We know we succeeded, Boss; but what do we do now?" Nikolai pointed out.

"You are going home," the Boss said decisively. When all three of them opened their mouths to protest, the Boss raised a hand and they closed. "I have been thinking about this since the Princess decided to martyr herself – you three are going home. You need to rest and recuperate. And after seeing how this battle went... you won't be going alone."

"What's that mean?" Wild wondered. She had an idea, and she was pretty sure the others were following her train of thought as well.

"Flamemon, Breezemon, and Strabimon will be accompanying you to the Human World," the Boss explained.

"What?" Breezemon breathed. She looked to Strabimon, whose red eyes were widened.

"_Really?!"_ Flamemon said excitedly, his green eyes childishly big.

The Boss nodded. "You three will go back to the Human World with your partners – going through the portal, however, will force you to degenerate into your In-Training forms... which is a good thing. You'll be easier to hide when you're smaller and less destructive."

Wild felt unsettled with the idea, though she knew better than to argue. _How am I going to explain all of this to Meg? To Mom?_ Flamemon looked incredibly giddy, though – it was a childish sort of giddiness that reminded Wild that he was younger than Breezemon and Strabimon, who were looking a little nervous at the idea.

"I thought it was a bad idea to bring them with us?" Nikolai recalled. "You said so yourself."

"The Human World isn't ready for another visit from digimon, yes," the Boss agreed. "That much is true – but it was never ready whenever digimon came to call. I'm afraid that you'll all be put in danger if you're sent to the Human World without your partners, now that you've significantly upset our enemy. The danger isn't just limited to the Digital World anymore – now they'll start lashing out at your family, your friends, _you."_

"There's more," Yukio sensed.

"Yes," the Boss said, nodding. "There's another condition. Loaño will be accompanying you."

All eyes turned to the Princess. She had stopped pacing and was standing still, frozen, staring at the Boss with an unreadable expression. She shook her head and said, "No – I'm needed here."

"You don't have a choice," the Boss told her.

"No."

"You're going, whether you like it or not."

"I said _no."_

"And I heard you," the Boss offered. "But I've decided that it would be best if you go with them. I can't risk having you pull something like this again. Next time we might not be able to save you."

"It wouldn't be so bad, would it?" Nikolai wondered. "You're human – you won't stand out _that_ much..."

Loaño shook her head and said, "Yeah; I'm human – I know that. What I _don't_ know is anything at all about the Human World. I only know what I've read about, and that's little enough as it is. How am I supposed to survive in a place I don't understand or belong in?"

"Look around, Princess," the Boss said. "Count how many faces are here in this room. All of those faces but mine will be with you in the Human World. They are your friends. They will help you. This is only temporary, until I can gauge just how strong our enemy is. When I have devised a solution that will defeat them permanently, I will call all of you back."

"Wait, Kidd is coming too?" Strabimon wondered.

KiddGarurumon nodded. "The Prince's got 'nough protection 'ere. I'll be more useful inna Human World."

"Believe this or not, Kidd here has been to the Human World before," the Boss explained. "It was a long time ago, but he still remembers everything about it. My Princess, you won't have a better group of protectors than you do right now."

"I don't _want_ to be protected all the damn time," Loaño retorted strongly. "I can take care of myself! I don't need a fucking entourage watching me while I sleep or holding my hand whenever I go to do something! Don't you understand that at all?"

"I understand that all just fine," the Boss told her calmly. "But you're still young, and you're quite rash. Nikolai is right when he points out that you're human – at some point I would have sent you and Kidd there anyway. Now you have friends to lean on if you need to; a place to stay."

"With me," Wild stated. "She can stay with me." Her mother would voice no loud objections, she knew – Oha Namekura would never turn down someone in need. But that suggestion would have to be placed when Toushi left on Sunday. Wild would not step foot in her home while Toushi was there. Not anymore. _Besides, it's probably not a good idea for her to stay with Nikolai or Yukio – they're boys, after all, and she might not feel comfortable with them._

"You see?" the Boss said. "You'll stay with Wild."

Loaño shook her head and growled, "I'll do this – but after, I want you to quit deciding my life for me. _Promise_ me that you won't. _Swear it."_

The Boss sighed. "Fine," he said, "if I must." He stood and walked around his desk. When he was before her, he sank to one knee, placed his cane upon the ground, and said solemnly, "I swear to you that I will not make any decisions about your life before I have had your consent on them. I swear I will only advise you on the right course of action, not direct you. I swear this by the great Yggdrasil and the spirit of our King, may their wrath fall on me if I break this vow."

He looked up at her and wondered, "Will that do? Must I swear by the Celestials and the Sovereigns, too?"

Loaño shook her head and said, "No." Then, when the Boss was standing with his cane in hand, she asked, "May I have your leave to see Lucemon? I want to see him before I go..."

"Go ahead," the Boss told her.

She turned and left, her bare feet making no sound upon the floor. The Boss leaned on his cane and sighed.

"I told ya she wouldn' be 'appy 'bout it," KiddGarurumon grunted.

"Anyone could have wagered that," the Boss admitted. He looked to the others in his room and said, "Go and get something to eat, the lot of you. You look famished."

"Definitely!" Flamemon exclaimed. "I'm starving!"

"Wait, one second – what the hell are we supposed to tell our parents?" Yukio wondered, standing up. "Are we supposed to keep this a secret from them?"

The Boss opened his mouth to reply, but he seemed to think better of what he was going to say. What he said instead sounded rushed and thought of on-the-spot. "Yes; by all means, tell them. Keeping this sort of thing a secret would only make it harder to explain if something were to happen. Besides; it's not as if they'll stop you from keeping your partners around. I'm sure they'll be happy for you to have your own guardian of sorts. Now go, and be back within the hour. It's late in the Human World, and we don't want to make you much later."

Wild frowned, but she felt a gnawing in her stomach and she left with the others anyway. It would be good to go home – it felt like she had been here forever.

* * *

Loaño entered as Lucemon was being attended by two Swanmon. One was holding his arm gently in her wings while the other was changing bandages. He had only been in the infirmary a few hours and he looked much better. His wings were beginning to perk up, and the pride had returned to his eyes – though it had never truly left. A tray of food lay half-eaten on a table beside his bed; seeing it made Loaños' stomach growl.

"Leave us," Lucemon decided once the Swanmon were done. The beautiful birds bowed before leaving.

Loaño grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and sat it beside her brother's bed. She looked him over – though he had no outer wounds, his arm and torso were bandaged. The thought of Crisis hurting her brother repulsed her, and she felt a chill down her spine. She wondered just what else Crisis had done, other than sap her brother's strength.

Instead of seeming glum, she joked, "You're looking like the King now, are you?" She poked his bandaging. "I knew you always idolized him..."

"You don't remember what my brother looked like," Lucemon reminded her. "And don't joke like that..."

"I do remember; you told me," Loaño retorted. "You took me to see a painting of him, remember? He looked so..." She tried to recall the expression that had been painted on the King's face. He had been smiling, but in his eyes... his eyes...

"Like himself," Lucemon answered for her. "He always had that look – so calm and serene, and yet in his eyes you could tell he was holding back. He never angered, not with me, not with anyone... and he was never violent. His scoldings were lessons. He... I..."

"You miss him," Loaño decided. She laid a hand on his and gave him a soft smile.

"Yes; I suppose I do," Lucemon sighed. "He knows that, though. He always knew what you weren't telling him."

They were silent for a moment. Then, Loaño said, "The Boss is sending me to the Human World, with the Digidestined."

"I figured as much," Lucemon admitted. "What else did you think he could do, sis? He feels he has to put you somewhere that Crisis cannot get you – its reach doesn't extend to the Human World yet, and its pawns aren't as strong as they think they are. Their DigiPowers may or may not work in the Human World – the Digidestined's didn't work because their partners were a world away. Now, though... they're bringing that with them. You'll be fine."

"But I... I've never been there," Loaño told him.

"You were born there, not here," Lucemon reminded her. "You are a human, sister. It's where you should be."

"But what if I don't belong there?"

"Then you always have the Digital World to come back to," Lucemon promised.

_But I don't belong here, either,_ the Princess thought. _I'm not a digimon. I'm human, but I have no idea how to act that way..._

_It will all work out, little one,_ the voice inside promised. He had been reluctant to speak to her since they'd returned, but at least they were out of Crisis's gaze now. He could speak freely without fear of being caught.

Lucemon reached over and plucked two large orange fruits with navy-blue stripes from his plate. He bit into one, chewed, swallowed, and then handed the other to Loaño. "I suppose my brother is telling you that everything will be fine?"

Loaño nodded, cradling the fruit between her fingers. She gave it a sniff and then a nibble. It was tart and bitter, but when the juice hit her tongue it all turned sweet. She swallowed nervously, feeling as if there was an obstruction in her throat.

"He's usually always right, you know," Lucemon told her. "Whenever I was frightened or worried he would tell me that and, well, he was right in the end. Everything _did_ turn out fine... Do the Digidestined know?"

"About him living in me?" Loaño wondered. "No; no one but you and Kidd and the Boss know."

"And Crisis."

"And Crisis," Loaño repeated hesitantly. Crisis's words reverberated through her head: _"You speak with the King's voice, child..." "But I already know where the King is, and I will tear him out of you if I must!" "I want to devour his power and make it my own... I will take your body for my own and use you to destroy the Digidestined and the Digital World! I want revenge for what he did to me – revenge! He sealed me here and forced me to sleep for hundreds of years... Now I have awakened, and I will tell you this – I did not sleep soundly."_

She shivered.

Lucemon sighed and then said, "You are a human, sister – but you're a strange human. The ability to absorb my brother's Core, power, and consciousness – everything that made him _him_ – is something no ordinary human could do. You have a connection to the Digital World and to my brother that's more than just you being raised here. No doubt that Crisis wants you for that. It's too dangerous for you to remain here."

"Can't you come with me?" She had always felt safer with Lucemon nearby. He was more powerful than any Mega-level digimon, and he was a mere Rookie level.

"No," Lucemon said. "I need to stay here and recuperate. While you're gone, the digimon need someone to look up to. They haven't looked up at this castle and seen me for a long time. Don't worry – I won't let it fall into ruin while you're gone."

Loaño leaned back in the chair and pulled her knees up to her chin, her heels resting on the edge of the seat. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her face on her knees. She looked like a child sitting there like that.

"This place is... my _home..."_ she murmured, her eyes burning and wet. She swallowed, pushing past the lump in her throat.

"It's all right to feel overwhelmed, sister," Lucemon promised her. "I won't condemn you for crying. Nor will anyone else. Maybe you'll find something out about yourself while you're there? Who knows?"

Loaño closed her eyes. She closed her eyes and cried, and Lucemon said nothing. When she was done and her eyes were dried, they talked some more... and though the conversation wasn't about the matter at hand, it was on the backs of both their minds.

* * *

Wild and the others found themselves in a large cafeteria. Digimon of all shapes, sizes, colors, levels, and kinds were there. Some congratulated them on a job well done, some ignored them. There was food, though, and they were all quite hungry.

Flamemon immediately went for the spicy foods. He grabbed Breezemon by her arm and took her with him. Strabimon followed in a more dignified fashion. Wild saw Flamemon pile a plate high with different types of food that she both recognized and didn't – two burgers topped with caramelized onions, what appeared to be tamales, three slices of pizza, something that looked like barbequed chicken thighs, and a little side of fruit. Breezemon ate a lot lighter, preferring a well-built salad and some fruit as well. Strabimon was in between the two, though he kept his plate neat with a burger, a salad, and a spoonful of glazed fruit. They each got a drink and found an empty table.

Wild didn't bother going with the boys to the buffet. She sat down beside Flamemon and shared with him. Flamemon offered her a burger, and she took it. It tasted surprisingly good, and it filled her stomach nicely. The boys returned with their modest plates and sat with their partners.

Over the din of people, Yukio commented, "So... how are we supposed to hide four digimon in the Human World?" He had gotten a bowl of miso ramen with thick noodles. He took up his chopsticks and twirled a mouthful of noodles onto his tongue.

"The Boss said that we'd get smaller," Breezemon reminded them. "Our In-Training forms are a lot smaller than we are now." She ate a leaf from her salad, chewing thoughtfully.

"I'm excited to go!" Flamemon told them. He took a meaty poultry thigh between his hands and bit into it, tearing off a chunk about the size of Wild's head. "It's going to be great!"

"I'm worried about how Loaño's going to take this," Nikolai admitted. "She didn't seem happy about coming with us. You think it'll be all right for her to stay with you, Wild?"

"She's not staying with _you,_ if that's what you're wondering," Wild said sternly.

"What? I..." Nikolai sputtered, blushing. He turned back to his food. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know," Wild said. "But I'm not dumb. She'd be a lot safer with me. I didn't hear anyone objecting when I suggested it."

"You can have her," Yukio told her. "My father would have a heart attack if I brought her to stay with us – he'd never allow it. But we'll need to work out what happens when you're at school. She'll be left there all alone. We definitely can't take her with us; that requires too much paperwork – too much explaining."

"School?" Strabimon wondered. "What's school?"

"Someplace _you're_ not going," Wild decided immediately. "We can't have the three of you guys running around in our _school,_ of all places. That's not safe."

"Aw," Flamemon complained. He stuffed more food into his mouth, looking downhearted.

"Yukio, you don't go to school right?" Nikolai wondered.

"I take my classes online," Yukio explained, "but technically I do attend the same school as the two of you."

"Couldn't you go and stay at Wild's while we're gone? You know, to make sure that nothing happens?"

"That's actually a good idea," Wild admitted. "You could borrow one of my old laptops. They run just fine. Not the fastest, but undoubtedly good enough for whatever you need to do. It'd be good for her to have someone around to keep an eye on her. It's not a good idea to leave her and the digimon alone."

Yukio sighed into his ramen. "I don't have a choice in this, do I?" he asked.

"No, I don't think so," Wild countered. "Just bring the digimon to my house. Yukio, you can do your schoolwork and keep an eye on them there." She looked to the digimon. "What do you think about that?"

"I don't want to be babysat, but I suppose it'll have to do," Breezemon said, sighing.

"Your home, your rules," Strabimon stated simply.

Flamemon pouted for a moment. Finally, he said, "I don't want it to be like that, but I guess if that's what you want, Wild..."

"We'll be able to spend time with you guys," Nikolai promised. "We'll show you around the city and everything, all right?"

They looked excited at the prospect of such adventure. Wild smirked and thought, _Of course they do – they've never been to the Human World. Then again, I had never been here before, either; not until a week ago... I guess I was excited, too._

She thought of going home. She shivered inwardly. _I'll have to make Meg's parents let Loaño stay until Sunday. I'll have to come up with some sort of explanation..._ The truth was a good explanation, but the odds of the Bourkes believing her were slim to none. Then again, she would have Flamemon and KiddGarurumon with her – it would be hard to dispute her with them at her side. _Whatever I need to do to stay away from Toushi until he goes back to school..._

* * *

The Boss looked out of his window and down at the Light and the Dark Areas. The two Areas did not clash – they melded together like two hands holding one another tightly. Beyond all of that, he could see the Crisis Zone. The spires of the dark castle that stood there were visible to him and his old, experienced eyes.

"Humans study history so that they don't make the same mistakes and cause it to repeat itself," he mused aloud to KiddGarurumon, who was standing against a wall with his great arms crossed. "Would that our efforts bore the same fruit."

"Ya don' 'ink 'at they kin stop Crisis?" KiddGarurumon wondered.

"It's not that I don't think they can; it's simply that all the odds are against them and I know it," the Boss said. Memories tore at his Core and made his eyes water. "I was there to see the outcome of the last group who tried to stop Crisis from reaching the Human World."

"I was 'ere, too," KiddGarurumon rumbled. His fur was stiff and straight at his shoulders. The Boss could tell the memories were hitting him hard as well. "We manag'd ta seal it up."

"And look how long that lasted," the Boss sighed. "Ten Human World years. Only _ten_. That's not that long at all, Kidd – it's thousands of years to us, but... ten years to the Human World is really nothing. And now look at what's happening – we have a new group of Digidestined, and they're fewer than what we had before."

KiddGarurumon snorted and said solemnly, "Most'a 'em didn' live long 'nough ta 'ave more pups."

"But there were _more_ children," the Boss insisted. "Wild wasn't Henshu's _only_ child! Yosuya had children, but none of them were summoned here!"

KiddGarurumon lashed his tail and grumbled hotly, "Don' remin' me 'bout Yosuya. By Yggdrasil, if'n I gotta see _'er_ again..."

The Boss touched the window and said, "I feel horribly about these children being chosen for this. This is too dangerous for ones as young as them, with their whole lives ahead of them. But Crisis _needs_ to be stopped, once and for all. They _have_ to be the ones who do it. Crisis must be stopped by the hands of a Digidestined. They're going to need all the help they can get – but that's why I'm here, I suppose. The King always had plans beneath his plans."

"So yer gonna sit back an' figure this all out?" KiddGarurumon determined. "While we do what, sit inna Human World an' twiddle our thumbs?"

"No," the Boss decided. "You're going to give the children the full story. You're going to take them to those who can give them the answers they need. Katsura and Anatole might be missing and you will respect my wishes and not speak of this to Oha Namekura – the poor woman has lost enough as it is and I will not have her reminded of it through any fault of yours – but Yosuya is still around and living in the area you will be in. I don't care how much the two of you hate or disagree with one another, but she is the one to whom you will take the Digidestined; is that clear?"

KiddGarurumon stiffened. It was clear as anything that he didn't like the idea of crawling to Yosuya Misaki and asking for help – but the Boss would not have the same mistakes be made this time. He intended to see this through to the end... and he intended for the new Digidestined to be seeing Crisis's end as well. To his credit, KiddGarurumon didn't voice his disdain; but it was clear as the window the Boss was looking out of in his eyes.

"Now, bring them back here; all of them," the Boss decided. "It's time I sent them on their way."

KiddGarurumon nodded and then left the solar, shutting the door behind him. The Boss looked outside and stared at the Crisis Zone with one hand behind his back and the other clutching the top of his cane.

_You named them, Crisis, and they have come,_ the Boss thought. _But you will not defeat them. You will not kill them. Not while I breathe. What you did then will never be done again._


	29. Episode 29

**Episode 29: Bringing the Monsters Home**

Wild opened her eyes to find herself on the corner of Kagarame and Rō. It didn't look like much time had passed, though they had been in the Digital World from evening to morning. Night still reigned in the Human World, the sound of crickets casting a haunting melody to match the cool spring-to-summer night.

"Everyone OK?" Nikolai asked, standing up. He hadn't come into the Human World on his feet, but on his backside. He stood up and gave it a rub. "God," he swore, "the Boss sure tossed us out quick."

"He wanted us out as soon as possible," Yukio reminded him. "Just in case." He looked wobbly, so he used Nikolai's mother's car as something to keep himself steady.

He was right about that – the Boss had called them back and sent them to the Human World with very little speech involved. He said his obligatory _good bye_s and _be careful_s, but that was about it. He had looked incredibly troubled, to be honest.

Nikolai pulled out his iPhone and mentioned, "We've only been gone, like, two minutes. Jeez; it felt like we were gone forever! I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that feeling; it's like jetlag."

Yukio nodded his agreement as Wild turned to look at their companions. The Boss had been correct in the fact that their digimon partners would degenerate into lower levels of themselves – Flamemon had turned into a round creature about the size of her head, covered in soft pink-colored fuzz. His red eyes were huge and shining as he looked around the new world he was in. Two antennae-like things came from the top of his head. His mouth was full of surprisingly sharp-looking teeth.

Strabimon had turned into another large round creature, only he bore a large, sharp horn on the top of his head. His eyes were red and still just as sharp as before, too. His face was soft-looking and creamy white, while the rest of his body was covered in rough-looking brown fur.

Breezemon had become something a little different – she wasn't a ball like the others, but she had a bulb-like shape with little tentacle-like legs that mimicked the roots of a tree. She was pink and soft-looking, with a large blue flower growing out of her head. Yellow stamens came from between the petals, one curling and tinged with red. Her eyes were a pretty blue-green color. She reached to about Yukio's knee in height.

The three tiny digimon were dwarfed by what KiddGarurumon had become. Since he had been a Champion-level digimon in the Digital World, here he had become a Rookie. He was about the size of a large dog or a young wolf, with periwinkle fur covered in blue stripes. His claws were fuchsia-colored, and his paws were big. He had along, winding tail and oddly flat ears. A strange-looking horn came from his forehead. His eyes were the same ice-blue as before, and his muzzle was shorter and still scarred. He came up to about Loaño's waist in height and wore a large golden bangle around one foot.

Loaño stood in the middle of all of them, barefoot, looking up at the sky with wide eyes. She was wearing a green shirt and pants that looked to have been made here. She looked about at the buildings towering high above her and shivered.

"How are you guys doing?" Wild wondered.

"Everything's so tall!" the pink ball that had been Flamemon whispered in awe.

"That's because we're shorter," said the brown-and-white digimon.

The bulb-shaped digimon shivered and said, "This is so strange! Everything feels so strange!"

"Speaking of strange," Nikolai mused, "what are we supposed to call you guys now?"

"Koromon!" said the pink ball.

"Tsunomon," offered the horned digimon.

"Yokomon!" explained the bulb.

"Warugamon," grunted the dog.

"So, when do we get to see where you all live?" Koromon wondered. He bounced himself over to Wild. She bent down and picked him up, finding him soft and light, like a little stuffed animal. She hadn't really ever been interested in stuffed animals as a child.

Yokomon and Tsunomon did the same, approaching their partners. Yukio held Yokomon tucked into one arm while Nikolai carefully embraced Tsunomon. Nikolai even poked the tip of Tsunomon's horn and pulled away with a pricked finger dripping a bit of blood, proving that the horn was sharp.

"Soon," Wild promised. "But you and I and the Princess have somewhere else to go first."

"Really?" Koromon exclaimed, wriggling in her arms, "Where?!"

"Hush," Wild insisted. "Don't be so loud. People live around this area. We don't want to wake them up!"

"Oh, sorry," Koromon mumbled, sighing.

"I'm staying at a friend's house for the weekend. Don't worry, we can trust her," Wild promised. "I was planning on telling her, anyway. At least now I have some indisputable proof."

"Meg?" Nikolai guessed.

Wild nodded. "I'll bring the Princess with me, too," she said. Looking at the Princess, who was still silent and staring, she asked, "Is that all right?"

"Uh huh," Loaño murmured, still shocked at the world around her.

_It's going to take a while for her to come around,_ Wild realized. _But she'll get used to things, I think._

"Well, I can drop you off at Meg's, if you want," Nikolai decided. He rummaged in one of his pockets for his car keys. "I should be getting home. I'll stop off at a store on my way back so it seems like I actually went somewhere. My Mum hates it when I waste her gas."

"A store?" Tsunomon repeated coolly. "Do they sell food there?"

"Yeah," Nikolai replied.

"Hm, I wonder what Human World food is like..." Tsunomon mused. He settled himself in Nikolai's arms and said, "Well, let's not waste time here. I'm eager to meet your family, Nikolai."

"Me too, Yukio!" Yokomon said happily, wriggling a little. "Oh, this is all so new and fun!"

"Yeah; I wanna meet your family, Wild!" Koromon said eagerly. "Come on, let's go!"

Wild froze a little and thought, _You wouldn't want to meet my family if you knew anything about them. My mother, maybe, but the rest..._ She didn't want to think of what would happen if Toushi saw Koromon or Warugamon or the Princess. She could imagine the looks, though, and she didn't want to see that. It made her feel like vomiting.

"Meg's first," she insisted.

"Well, get in the car and buckle up," Nikolai offered. He looked at the little digimon and said, "And don't bounce around while I'm driving. It'll distract me. I know being a car will be something really new, but you'll have to get used to it. Tsunomon, you can't sit on my lap while I'm driving."

"He can have shotgun," Yukio decided.

"What's _shotgun?"_ Tsunomon wondered. "Is it something bad?"

"It's just the seat next to mine up front," Nikolai informed him. "It's easier to call it _shotgun,_ though."

Nikolai went around the car and opened the front passenger door and set Tsunomon in the seat. Yukio opened the back door on the sidewalk side and clambered in, putting himself at the far end. Wild held Koromon tightly, unsure of how he would act by being in a moving vehicle, and got in to sit beside Yukio, who held Yokomon on his lap.

Outside the car, Nikolai shut the passenger door after buckling Tsunomon in as best he could. Yukio and Wild were settled and buckled in with their partners, so he went around the car to find Warugamon using his short muzzle to push Loaño towards the car. She looked wary of everything around her, as if it would all break if she touched it.

"Give 'er a momen'," Warugamon decided. He placed two paws in the car. "She'll be fine."

"Have you ridden in a car before?" Nikolai asked warily.

"Aye," Warugamon promised. "Don' worry 'bout me. I know 'bout all'a this. I won' make no messes." With that, the dog clambered into the car and settled at everyone's feet.

Nikolai looked to the Princess. She stared at the car, her arms wrapped around herself as if she were hugging her small body. Nikolai laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Will you be fine?" he asked.

Loaño looked up at him and nodded.

"Do you remember anything like this?" he wondered. Maybe if she recalled her time in the Human World, she might feel more comfortable with being here.

Loaño shook her head. "No," she said quietly. "I don't."

"Don't worry; we'll help you out. Stick with Wild and trust us; we won't let you get hurt," Nikolai promised. _I won't let you get hurt._

"Thank you," she said quietly. She pulled away from him and stepped into the car. She sat down on the back seat and Nikolai leaded in to help her buckle herself. He didn't plan on getting into an accident, but he made it a personal rule not to let anyone in the car – especially his mother's car – without being buckled in.

She was secured with a _click_ and he adjusted the shoulder strap so that it didn't chafe or hurt her. When she was settled he closed the back door and opened the driver's seat. He got in, put the key in the ignition, turned it, and listened to the car start. He decided that the radio might not be the best idea right now. He put the car in gear and drove off down the road, heading for Meg's house.

* * *

"OK," Meg decided, leaning on the open door frame. "You're _definitely_ explaining this to me. And don't tell me that you just recently got into stuffed animals, Tatsu-chan – I know you better than that."

Thankfully, Damien Bourke was asleep in his bedroom when Wild and the Princess were dropped off. Meg had answered the door. Jimmy was nowhere to be found, but there was no way that Meg could ignore Koromon or Warugamon, or the Princess herself. Though she met the digimon with a look of indifference, Wild could sense the gears turning in her friend's mind.

Meg let them into the house and took them back to her room. "I don't get it," Meg decided, "you left, like, ten minutes ago – and now you come back with some stranger and... _these things._ What the hell happened?"

Wild sat down on Meg's bed and invited Loaño to do the same. Koromon leaped off of Wild's lap and bounced on the bed like a child, smiling with glee at the springiness of the mattress. Warugamon rolled his eyes and grunted at the little digimon.

"Meg, it's a really long story so I want you to pay attention," Wild explained. "You know, for once."

"I'm all ears," Meg offered. For once she seemed serious about this. Wild thought for a moment that Meg was actually genuinely worried about her well-being, but she shook her head of it. Meg, worried? Please.

Wild gestured to Loaño and introduced, "This is Loaño, the Princess of the Digital World. These _things_ are called digimon. They live in the Digital World. The big dog is named Warugamon, and he's Loaño's guardian. The one bouncing on your bed is Koromon; he's my partner..."

She went on to explain as best as she could the Digital World, digimon, and everything that had happened to her and Nikolai and Yukio in the past week. For once, it seemed like Meg was actually paying some sort of attention. Wild explained about what was happening in the Digital World and that she was a Digidestined, along with Nikolai and Yukio. She explained about Zen, Aws, and Sin and what they were doing. She also explained why Loaño and Warugamon and the other digimon were here in the Human World.

When she was done she took the water she had ordered earlier, just before she'd left to fight Kimeramon, and drank about half of it. She was parched and her throat was dry and Meg was silent. Koromon had stopped bouncing on the bed to hear her explanation and had fallen asleep at the Kimeramon part. He was snuggled up on a pillow. Warugamon listened with half-interest, more interested in judging Meg's character. If he was tired, he didn't show it.

"Huh," was all Meg said, after a moment.

"_Huh?"_ Wild repeated. "I tell you all of that, and all you have to say is _huh?"_

"Yeah," Meg said with no interest in her tone.

"God, you're even lazy with your _reactions,"_ Wild decided, sighing.

"It explains how wonky you've been acting lately," Meg admitted. "I'm not going to call you a liar – not like I can, since these digimon things are right in front of me – and I know you better than that. So you've got to babysit the Princess here?"

"Not _babysit,_ per se; but I need to keep an eye on her," Wild corrected. "I need her to stay here until tomorrow. She'll come home with me after that."

Meg raised an eyebrow. "Don't want your Mum to see her yet... or Toushi?"

Wild shivered and growled, "Let's not get too into the details."

"And what about you – you haven't said a damn thing the whole time," Meg grunted, looking at Loaño.

"I didn't want to interrupt," Loaño decided. She folded her hands together and said, "I'm sorry for doing all of this. I don't know you, but I know you're a good person. I'm glad that you're taking this so well. I'll be staying with Wild and, if you want, I won't bother you... but I'd like to be friends, if that's all right. I come from the Human World and yet I don't know anything about it... so... I'd like to be able to learn what I can."

Meg took a deep breath, and then sighed. "Fine," she decided. "You can stay. I'll figure out a way to sneak your... _pets_... out of my house tomorrow. My Dad should be going to the store tomorrow and he's prolly gonna take Jimmy, too. That'll give you guys time to get out of here – he never takes me along when I have company."

"Thank you," Loaño said, her voice cool and calm. "You have a kind heart, Megan Bourke."

Meg grimaced and grumbled, "Yeah, yeah; just don't go telling other people. I don't like other people."

"Thanks, Meg," Wild offered. "I know I've probably been kind of... hard to put up with lately, and..."

Meg scoffed, "You seriously think you're hard to put up with? I deal with _Jimmy_ on a daily basis."

"True."

"I'll see what I can do about getting another bed set up. I don't think Fluffy here needs a bed... and your little Roly-Poly guy found a bed on one of my pillows." She looked to the Princess and began, "You..."

"Loaño," the Princess offered.

"I'm just going to call you _Lo_ because your name is really fucking hard to pronounce," Meg decided. "You OK with a bed made of a shit ton of blankets?"

"She can have the air mattress," Wild offered. "I'll take the blankets."

Loaño shook her head. "No, I'll take the blankets," she said. She looked at Wild and said, "I'm not a Princess here, Wild; I'm just Loaño... or Lo. I'm just a regular person here. After what I've put all of you through, I don't want any sort of special treatment."

Meg looked between the two of them and then sighed. She stood up and brushed off her pants. "I'll be right back," she decided. "Fish and chips, Tatsu-chan... your explaining everything made me really tired. I'm sure you guys are beat too. Don't fall asleep on my bed. Roly-Poly can stay."

The brown-haired girl turned and left the room to go and gather more blankets for their extra, secret guest. Wild sighed and laid back on Meg's bed, staring at her ceiling. Her head was pounding and sleep was threatening to overtake her – but if she fell asleep on Meg's bed she would be woken up so violently that she would never get back to sleep again.

Warugamon stretched out and yawned. He found a suitable place on Meg's floor and curled up there, his tail brushed over his nose. He closed his eyes, obviously tired. Koromon was still snoring lightly on one of Meg's pillows.

"She took that really well," Loaño decided.

"That's Meg for you," Wild told her, sighing. "You could tell her that a house full of puppies were just shot and killed and she would still be just as apathetic."

Loaño looked down at her knees.

"You'll get used to things, Lo," Wild told her reassuringly. _Damn it, now Meg's got me calling her _Lo._ Though that's probably not a bad thing – her name is so strange it makes her stick out. Zen, Aws, and Sin are humans, too – they'll be here looking for her, no doubt. We'll have to do all we can to make her seem like a normal, everyday person._

"What's your family like?" Loaño wondered.

"My... family?" Wild repeated. Loaño nodded. Wild propped herself up on her elbows and said, "My Mom is nice. Kind of lost inside, but she's nice."

"Do you have any siblings?"

Wild ground her teeth and admitted, "Yes."

"Brothers? Sisters?"

"I had two brothers," Wild muttered.

"_Had?"_

"Good night, Princess," Wild decided abruptly. She got up and crossed to her makeshift bed on the other side of the room. She buried herself beneath the blankets covered the air mattress and closed her eyes, trying to force herself to go to sleep.

Sleep failed to come, however. Nothing was right. Things were much too different. Wild silently tore off her ascot and stared at it beneath the blankets. The shade of the blankets above her turned the red into a dark sanguine color, like blood. She shook her head and closed her eyes as tightly as possible.


	30. Episode 30

**Episode 30: A Box Beneath A Bed**

Nikolai woke up to the sun shining brightly in his face. He didn't recall leaving his curtains open last night, but he didn't really recall much about last night. He had gotten home past midnight, after dropping off Yukio and Yokomon at Yukio's house. He had been so exhausted that he'd just flopped into bed with Tsunomon, clothes still on, and fallen asleep.

He pushed himself up and wiped his face of dried drool. He kicked off his shoes and socks, slipped out of his pants, took off his shirt, and then untied his hair from its ponytail, letting the dirty curls fall down his back. He gathered up the clothes, all but the shoes, and walked out of his room.

Poking his head out the door, Nikolai strained to hear if anyone was awake. He couldn't tell if his mother was gone or not – being a freelancer and all, her schedule was always a little random. Sighing, Nikolai decided it was safe and tip-toed to the bathroom down the hall.

Their house was a small one-floor home with a basement and an attic. Most of the extra boxes from the move – winter clothes, old trinkets, memorabilia, stuff like that – were stored in the attic. The first floor contained nearly everything a house ought to contain – kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and one bathroom. The basement was furnished as well and served as a study for his mother and a work out room for Nikolai. The payments were relatively affordable for the home, but Nikolai planned on getting a job when school was done to help his mother pay for a few extra things. The move had cost a bit more than she'd anticipated, and he wanted to help her make up the difference.

Once safe in the bathroom, he set his clothes down on the tiled floor and slipped out of his boxers. He used the toilet, flushed, washed his hands, and then ran the water for his much-needed shower.

Fifteen minutes later he was done, his long, curly, wet, hair dark and flattened against his head. He fluffed it out with a towel and dried himself off. Nikolai wrapped the towel around his waist and took it with him on his trek back into his room.

Once inside his room he cast away the towel into a hamper and rummaged through his dresser to find some clothes. He produced a blue sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans, along with white socks and black boxers. He put them all on in the appropriate order. Once dressed, he shook out his hair and found a tie for it. He slipped it around his wrist for when it was drier and then found a brush and ran it through his hair.

_One day I'll get you cut, I swear,_ he told himself, looking into a mirror set against his dresser as he was combing. His mother and father both had curly hair – his mother's curls were more light and elongated, while his father's had been tight and unruly. Nikolai's hair was somewhat in-between, making it look like he had gotten a perm a long time ago. _Then again, I kind of like my hair longer... makes me look a little different._ Most of the boys he'd met here had short hair. Perhaps he'd just keep it this length and get it trimmed now and again.

Dressed and clean, Nikolai yawned and looked to his bed. He opened his mouth, but the words got caught in his throat.

Instead, he said, _"Shit!"_

He turned and shot out of his room and down the hall much faster than he would have before. He slid on the polished floor into the kitchen, where he saw his mother sitting at the table, sipping tea.

With Tsunomon.

Solidad Miles looked at her son with light green eyes that reminded him of the leaves outside. She wore a light cream top that was slightly open at the neck with a pale brown skirt. Her long, curly, light brown hair framed her face prettily. She wore very little makeup.

Sitting next to her, on the table, was Tsunomon. A bowl of the same tea was sitting before him, and he was blowing on it gently. He blinked up at Nikolai and said, "I thought it would be rude if I didn't introduce myself to your mother, Nikolai. I apologize if I worried you."

Nikolai was speechless.

Solidad sipped her tea and invited, "Come, sit; it looks like you have something to discuss with me, Nikolai. Your friend here was kind enough to explain a few things to me, but some obvious details are missing..."

* * *

"Father, this is Twinkle Toes," Yukio said with disinterest, gesturing to Yokomon. "She is a digimon and I am one of a few who are tasked with the safety of her world."

"My name is _Yokomon,"_ Yokomon growled, though the intimidation was lost on Yukio because of her cute voice.

Natsu, Yukio's father, looked up from his newspaper to glance at Yokomon. "This one of your video games?" he asked. He wasn't a hard-looking man, with red-blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a business suit, as he was just about to go off to work. His coffee was growing cold beside his half-eaten toast.

"No," Yukio replied. "It's much more real than any video game. She'll be staying with us for a while."

"She talks," Natsu commented.

"She's real."

Natsu sighed and stood up, folding his newspaper into a neat square. "I really don't understand any of this, Yukio; you're going to owe me an explanation when I get home. Try not to go too over my head this time."

Yukio's father then got his hat and left the house. Yukio cleaned up his father's breakfast and put the dishes in the sink. "That went better than I thought," he admitted.

"How did you think it was going to go?" Yokomon wondered, crawling on the table with her little root-like legs.

"Usually he just nods his head and goes back to whatever he was doing," Yukio told her. "He doesn't really understand much of the things that I do – mostly the video games. He's older, so new things sort of just fly over his head."

"Oh," Yokomon breathed. "Do all adult humans act like that?"

"Not all," Yukio told her, "most."

* * *

Wild took a deep breath and tugged at her ascot as she walked down her driveway. Koromon wriggled in her arms. Loaño gasped as she stepped on a stone, but she followed without a sound otherwise. Warugamon padded beside her, sniffing the ground. Wild looked around the driveway – her brother's car was gone. Some of the tension released from her stomach.

Meg had spirited the four of them out the back door when Damien and Jimmy left for shopping in the morning. They had taken the car, unfortunately, so they were on their own for getting home; but Wild knew secret ways to get to Meg's without being seen – she had gone there on her own before, when she didn't want anyone to know. The path still worked now.

Wild dug her keys from her pocket and unlocked the back door. Loaño took a breath as she looked at the Namekura's backyard.

"Your mother likes flowers," she decided.

"Gardening is her... getaway," Wild confessed tightly. The backyard wasn't incredibly large, but it sported ten gloriously tended and lovely gardens with all kinds of flowers. A huge sakura tree was surrounded by dozens of different kinds of flowers, with more names than Wild could remember. In the summer, their backyard was home to insects and animals alike. Two ornate ornaments made of spun glass hung from the sakura tree's branches, tied so securely that not even a hurricane could get them down. A swing that Wild had used in her childhood also hung from one of the branches, but the glass was the spectacle to stare at.

"Those are pretty," Loaño admitted. "Who made those?"

"My mother," Wild answered. "Blowing glass is another one of her... getaways. She made them ten years ago."

"And they're still in such good condition," Loaño said, admiration in her tone. "What are they there for?"

"To remember," was all Wild offered. She pushed open the door before Loaño could wonder what her tone was about. Koromon looked up at her, his red eyes full of concern.

Wild walked into the kitchen to find her mother unwrapping a brand new teacup from its Styrofoam container. It was as plain and inexpensive as the rest of their dishware, but it shone brilliantly.

"You're home much earlier... than I thought, Tatsuya..." Oha said quietly. She didn't look at her daughter, but she was busy wiping down the cup. "Toushi... it was an accident... one of the cups... they, they broke. He... replaced it before... he left."

_How... kind... of him,_ Wild thought. _Broke? More like he thought of me and threw it against the wall._

"Mom..." Wild began. "There's something we need to talk about."

Oha looked up at her daughter. Her grip on the new teacup slipped a little, but it didn't fall – she caught it before it could. She was pale and silent and struck with something like confusion and horror. She said nothing.

Wild took a deep breath and said, "This is Loaño – she needs to stay with us for a while."

"Hullo, Namekura-sama," Loaño offered, bowing at the waist.

Warugamon had chosen that moment to come out from behind the two girls. The sight of him shocked Oha again, almost causing her to drop the teacup for a second time. She caught it before it could shatter, though.

"Your mama's really pretty, Wild," Koromon said, his eyes shining. "She's kinda jumpy, though..."

"I prolly scar'd 'er," Warugamon admitted. "I ten' ta do 'at."

Oha could still not seem to find the strength to say anything.

"Mom, this is Koromon," Wild said, holding up the pink blob in her arms. "That's Warugamon. They're digimon. From the Digital World."

_CRASH!_

After two successful attempts at keeping the cup from shattering on the ground, Oha finally let it go at the words _Digital World._ The look that passed across her face was so indescribable that Wild thought her mother was having some sort of heart attack or episode. Everyone in the room flinched at the sound, and silence reigned in the room.

"I'm sorry," Loaño offered. "I'll take care of that."

She bent down to pick up the pieces, but Oha Namekura stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. Oha helped Loaño to stand – Oha was short, but was still taller than Loaño. Oha tipped Loaño's face up so that she could look at it, as if she was unsure about what she was seeing. Wild saw the recognition when it flashed through Oha's eyes.

Oha let Loaño go. Then, she turned to face Wild and said, her voice not faltering for once, "You will explain this, Tatsuya. Now."

* * *

At the end of the explaining, Oha Namekura looked at her daughter, her eyes wet. Tears didn't fall, however, and Oha wiped the wetness away as quickly as possible. Wild's throat was beginning to tighten from having to relay the same story first to Meg and then to her mother. Thankfully, Loaño had been able to fill in some details to give her a break. Koromon and Warugamon were largely silent, not wanting to frighten Oha again.

"I... I know I can't stop you," Oha murmured. "But... please; give me permission to... to worry about you."

"You don't have to; but fine," Wild said. She didn't need her mother's worry – she was worried for herself enough. Zen, Aws, and Sin had each made it clear that they would be very willing to harm or kill the Digidestined and the digimon to get what they wanted. But there was no need to tell Oha that – it came through in the explanation. Wild looked to the Princess and said, "Can she stay?"

Oha nodded wordlessly.

Loaño's face lit up, and she promised, "I'll do whatever you want me to do – I'll earn my keep, Namekura-sama; I promise!"

Oha's expression didn't change. She said, "Thank you," and then stood up carefully, as if she were afraid she would fall. Wild moved to help her mother, but Oha held up a hand to stop her. Oha got comfortable on her own two feet after a moment, and then said, "Tatsuya... fetch the spare mattress from the... attic. It should still be... clean. Put it in the... spare room. Our guest will... sleep there."

Wild's stomach curdled and her temples throbbed. She pulled at her ascot and stammered, "B-But... that room... S-She can't. N-No one c-can..."

Oha blinked sadly at her daughter and said nothing.

"Fine," Wild decided. Her heart, her mind, everything about her – especially her stomach – didn't like it... but she saw her mother's reasoning. Putting Loaño in Toushi's room would be an insult to him when he came home... and having her share Wild's own room would be rude to the both of them. There was no concrete law in the family that stated that no one could use the spare room.

Oha swallowed and walked along the table until she stood before the girls. She looked at Loaño, up and down, and then said, "We... will have to find you some... clothes, and... shoes."

Loaño could only bow to the woman and said, "Your kindness is more than I deserve, Namekura-sama."

Oha looked to Wild and then said, "Make her... comfortable. I... would like some privacy."

"Of course," Wild agreed. She patted Loaño on the shoulder and said, "Come on; I'll show you where you're staying."

Wild led Loaño up the steps to the second floor. The floor creaked beneath their feet as Wild opened up the door to the spare room and took her inside.

The room was bare and empty and covered in a light layer of dust. The bed frame lay in one corner, empty of a mattress. The room had a window that looked out into the street. The room was no bigger or no smaller than Wild's own room – all three of their rooms were equal in size. A dresser was really the only other piece of furniture up here, other than the bed frame. A picture rested on top of the dresser, the protective glass cracked a little.

Wild crossed the room silently, her head pounding, to pick up the frame and stare at the picture inside. She stared at the image of her and her brothers and the little crack that crossed over all three of them. It suddenly seemed like the world was closing in on her and her ascot suddenly felt much too tight and warm and...

"Are those your brothers?"

Loaño's voice broke the strange spell that had fallen over Wild and her head snapped up to attention. Wild turned to look at Loaño.

Breathless for some reason, she said, "Yes. Yes, they are."

Koromon bounced up to her feet and rubbed against her, his red eyes big and wide with sympathy. Warugamon grunted, sniffing every corner of the room, his tail swishing from side to side.

"What're their names?" Loaño asked, bending down to pick up Koromon so he could see, too.

Wild pointed to each and said, "Toushi and... Tekku."

"Where are they now?"

Wild put the picture frame face-down on the dresser. She said quietly, "Toushi is at The University of Tokyo studying medicine and Tekku is... he is..." Her fingernails made rents in the wood of the dresser. "He's dead."

"Oh," Loaño breathed. "I'm so sorry... I... I didn't know..."

Wild shook her head and said, "He died ten years ago. There wasn't anything anyone could do." _It was my fault. My fault. My fault my fault my fault..._

Wild took Koromon from Loaño and held him tightly. Holding him made her feel much better for some reason. The room was beginning to tilt on an axis that she couldn't see and she was feeling slightly dizzy.

"This was his room, then?" Loaño guessed, looking around. She opened up the first drawer of the dresser and exposed Tekku's goggles to the light of day. She picked them up gently and asked, "Where these his? He's wearing them in the picture... along with that ascot that you have on."

"They're both his," Wild answered, her voice tight. Wild took the goggles from Loaño. Tekku's face flashed behind her eyes, smiling like a dork with the goggles over his eyes and the ascot over his mouth. He looked stupid, but he didn't care. Tekku had never cared about anything like that. _He liked making me laugh..._

Loaño frowned. She stepped closer to Wild, her eyes flashing. "I'm not going to delve any deeper than I need to," she promised. "It's not my place. I can sense that something awful happened... but I'm not going to ask. I know you'll tell me when you feel comfortable with it. I'm thankful that you all took me in... and I'll do whatever I can to seem grateful for it."

"So... when do I get to meet your dad, Wild?" Koromon wondered.

Wild bit her lip and then looked down at him. Finally, she said, "My Dad died ten years ago."

They were all quiet after that.

Finally, Wild offered stonily, "I'll go get your mattress and some sheets."

* * *

Oha sat on her bed. It was much too big for her – it was made for two people – but she hadn't wanted to change it. Somehow, changing this room would be like changing everything about herself. She didn't want to do that. It was a bigger room than the children were given, with the bed in the middle up against the far wall. There was a dresser on each side – though one was empty. A vanity was located on her side of the room. Pictures dotted nearly every surface in the room. Little glass figurines that she had made many years ago were placed here and there. She had long since stopped playing with glass.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. Seeing the digimon had caused her heart to nearly stop and she was shocked she hadn't burst into little pieces in front of the girls and their partners. Now she was shaking violently and was doing her best to try and stop herself from fainting.

_This cannot be happening,_ she thought, _not again. Not to my Tatsuya..._

She looked up at a portrait that an old friend had painted in return for their family's friendship and hospitality. It had been painted using a picture taken from a camera as reference, and it depicted the whole of the Namekura family, all together. In the foreground, Tatsuya and Tekku held hands while Toushi hand an arm wrapped around his older brother. Oha herself and Henshu stood close together behind the three of them.

_What kept us together is gone, and now we're falling apart,_ Oha thought sadly, looking at the portrait. _And now what tore them from me has returned... but why? What's happening?_

She knew one person she could ask, though she was loathe to bother them. She found her cell phone – an insistent gift from Toushi some years ago – and dialed the number. She put the phone to her ear and listened to it ring.

Four times the phone rang before the woman on the other end picked up. "Oha – well, this is a surprise," she said. Her voice was young and strong. "What's going on?"

"I... I was wondering if you... if we... could meet up for... tea," Oha suggested. She took a deep breath and told her, "Something has... happened... that I think... you should know about."

The woman on the other end was silent. Then, after a moment, she said, "Alright; how does tomorrow sound? I'm busy with a hearing today, but I'm free all day tomorrow. Noonish? We can have lunch and catch up."

"S-Sure," Oha stammered. "That sounds... nice. Thank you."

"No problem, Oha," the woman told her. "You know you can always bother me. It's been what, six months since we've last hung out? It's about time we see one another again. I'll see you tomorrow, Oha."

"Good bye," Oha offered gently. The woman on the other end hung up, and Oha put her phone on the bed.

She slipped off the bed and got down on her knees on the floor. She bent down and lifted the covers of her bed up and over so that they exposed the hiding place beneath. It was dark and dank and dusty beneath the bed, but Oha reach in and felt about for what she was looking for. She kept all manner of things beneath her bed – birthday presents, old boxes of pictures, a box of baby blankets that her children had been fond of, and several other things – but her fingers hooked on one box in particular – bigger and wider than the others, and slightly heavy – and she pulled it out from beneath the bed.

Placing it before her, she brushed the dust off of the package. It was simply a box with a little tag that read _To: Oha_ and _From: Henshu_. The box had already been opened – for Oha had opened it when she had received it – so it was easy to open the flaps and get inside.

Packed in with a crude mash of newspaper, packing peanuts, and Styrofoam, was an egg. A rather large egg, one about the size of Oha's midsection and a bit larger than an ostrich egg. It was creamy white and patterned with maroon swirls. On top of that was a letter that had already been opened. Oha pulled out the letter and read it again.

When she was done, she put the letter back into the yellowed envelope it had come from and put it back into the box. She pulled out the egg, being gentle and careful about it, and set it in her lap. She gave it a gentle pat and then sighed.

_One day, you said, one day I'd understand why you gave this to me..._ Oha thought. _But that day is not today, it seems._

She put the egg back into the box and closed it. She hesitated in putting it back under the bed, though. Finally, she found the courage to put it back, but it was nearer to the entrance of the hole so that she could easily reach it. She put the egg and the letter and the box beneath her bed that contained them both out of her mind as she fixed up the bed and went out into the kitchen to prepare a dinner for the girls.


	31. Episode 31

**Episode 31: An Atypical Monday Morning  
**

Wild sighed and straightened her ascot so that it fell just so beside her uniform's collar. She had wanted to skip school today – she really had. She had wanted to skip so that she could help Loaño settle in more comfortably into her home. It felt rude to just go and leave her here, even though Yukio was going to be coming over in around two hours and her mother would still be here, too.

Koromon was definitely not happy with Wild going to school without him. He sat on her pillow, pouting like a baby. Wild had told him again and again that morning that it would cause no end of trouble if he were to go to school with her – it would never be allowed. She would have no place to hide him, and she wouldn't let him stay in her backpack all day. Finally, it took Warugamon promising to hold the little pink digimon in his jaws to get Koromon to relent.

All the while, Loaño watched Wild get ready as if she found the whole process curious. She had never gone to school – she had arrived in the Digital World at such a young age Wild was pretty sure she wouldn't have been in school for very long, if at all. The Princess asked no questions, however, and had remained largely silent since being brought here.

Skipping school went against every principle Wild had, though – so she couldn't. She wouldn't. Not even for the Princess.

Wild told her, "Yukio will be here soon; I'll be back in a few hours."

Loaño murmured in return, "Be careful."

Warugamon offered, "Zen, Aws, an' Sin're 'umans, too. Don' forge' 'at. 'Ey know more 'bout you 'an you know 'bout them. Be real aware'a wha's happenin' 'round you."

"I will," Wild promised. She looked over to Koromon. He was still pouting on her pillow, his big red eyes refusing to meet her's. Holding tight to the straps of her backpack and laptop sling, she asked, "Koromon, aren't you going to say _good bye?"_

Koromon grumbled and mumbled, turning away from her. His little body shook. Wild sighed and walked over to him. She sat down beside him on her bed and put one hand between his wiggling ears. He was shaking and sniffling – he was crying.

"I know that you just got here and everything," Wild said, "but you know I need to go to school. It's not like school lasts all day, either – I'll be back this afternoon, and we can play whatever games you want to play. We can hang out all you want after school, all right Koromon?"

"... Fine," Koromon agreed, with a sniffle.

Wild smiled and patted him on the head. "I'll be back," she promised again. "Don't chew on anything you're not supposed to."

* * *

Loaño frowned at the shoes placed before her. They made her feet feel as if they were trapped and unable to escape. She wriggled her toes apprehensively and asked, "Not to be rude, Namekura-sama, but can't I go around barefoot?"

The gentle Oha Namekura shook her head. She said, "It's... not safe. You might step on... glass, or something." She took the shoes away and mentioned, "If you don't... like shoes, I may have some... sandals that you can borrow... Just until we can... get you some more clothes... and other things."

She stood up and left the room, her steps as silent and gentle as she was. Loaño frowned, feeling restless. She was still unsure of just what time it really was – she kept looking at the clock in Wild's brother's room and seeing that it was still much earlier than she thought. The days seemed to last so much longer here – she just wasn't used to it.

Oha had been very generous with loaning Loaño a few days' worth of clothes. They were all small and light, which Loaño liked. She and Oha seemed to be nearly the same size. Looking at the slightly cracked photo of Wild and her brothers, Loaño decided that Wild must take after her deceased father. One of her brothers seemed thinner, while the other looked to be like Wild.

_She's changed a lot since then,_ Loaño realized, looking at the photo. She leaned over and took it in her hands. The little Wild there was smiling like a little devil who had just gotten away with something dastardly. The Wild now, though, seemed much more... serious. _Whatever happened to her brother and her father really changed her._

_Trauma like that can change a person drastically,_ agreed the voice in her mind, the King of the Digital World. _It looks to me that she and her eldest brother must have been very close, for her to keep him in her heart._

_I feel kind of bad for her,_ Loaño decided. _She doesn't seem to care much for her other brother, either. I'm not here to get into everyone's business, though; I'm here to hide... as much as I don't want to. Hopefully the Boss can sort things out so I can go to the Digital World again soon._

_Little one, I doubt things will get so easily sorted,_ the King told her. _Crisis... Crisis is a horrible beast, capable of the worst kinds of tricks. It should be duly noted that our time here will not be in any way relaxing. You should stick close to the Digidestined to ensure your safety._

_You shouldn't be worried about _me, Loaño admitted. _We don't want Crisis finding _you.

At that point Oha had returned, with a pair of sandals. She knelt down and slipped them onto Loaño's feet. She wriggled her toes awkwardly in them, but at least they could breathe. When she set aside the photo and stood up to test them out, she found that they were easy to walk in, but a little on the tight side, as Oha's feet were slightly smaller than Loaño's. They would suffice until they could find something more to her size, though.

When she returned to the bed, Loaño slipped off the sandals and said, "Those will work; thank you very much."

"No problem," Oha offered, her voice soft and gentle, as always. "We you... comfortable last night?"

Loaño nodded. She was more used to mattresses stuffed with Swanmon feathers rather than whatever these mattresses were stuffed with, but it had been firm enough for her to fall asleep on. The blankets Wild had found had kept her warm throughout the cool, rainy night and the pillow was nice on her head. She had slept through the night and had no complaints.

"Again, thank you," Loaño said gratefully, bowing her head. "I owe you so much for taking me in. If I may ask you something, though..."

"Yes, please," Oha offered, nodding.

Loaño picked up the photo and pointed to the three siblings. "Were they all close?" she asked.

Oha smiled fondly as she looked at the photo of her children. She gently took it from Loaño and said, "Yes... they were. Tatsuya and Toushi... they never really got along... too well; they fought like... brother and sister do. Toushi would tease her and... and Tatsuya would tease him back... things like that. Sometimes Toushi would fight with... Tatsuya. She had a lot to prove, being... the only girl in a... group of boys. When Toushi would hurt her... Tekku would step in and... stop them."

She sat down beside Loaño and smiled, her eyes growing wet. Loaño wondered if the frail woman would start to cry. Oha touched the crack in the frame and went on to say, "Henshu... their father... was a computer... programmer. When Tatsuya was four, she... was reading his books. She was always... playing on... the computer. Henshu even said that she... was a better... programmer than he was. When she was seven... Henshu was assigned... with other programmers... to work on a project... and he..."

_When she was seven,_ Loaño thought. _That would be about ten years ago_...She placed a hand on Oha's and said, "You don't need to say anything more, Namekura-sama."

Oha looked up, as if she hadn't realized that she had started to talk about her husband. She shook her head and wiped her eyes, standing. "I am... sorry," she said. She looked at the clock and mentioned, "I have... somewhere to be. I won't be gone... long, I promise. I let your... friend in. He's... downstairs."

_Ah, Yukio is here,_the King murmured. _Let's not pester her any more._

_Yeah; I could tell I was hitting a sore spot,_ Loaño decided. She stood up and bowed to Oha again, saying, "Thank you."

"Ah... you're... welcome," Oha stammered.

The two got up and left the room. Warugamon and Koromon, who had decided to wait in the hall while all the changing and dressing was going on, followed. Oha jumped at the sight of Warugamon, as if he made her nervous. The small group made their way downstairs and into the living room, where Yukio and Yokomon sat waiting on the couch. A laptop sat on Yukio's lap, and he set it aside when they came into the room to stand up and bow. Yokomon did her best to do the same, but it looked more like she was squishing herself flat, so she gave up.

"Where's Tsunomon?" Koromon wondered, bouncing up to Yokomon.

"Nikolai said that he wanted to stay with his mom," Yokomon replied, blinking. "Tsunomon apparently said it was the polite thing to do."

"Aw," Koromon sighed, "I wanted to play with you guys..."

"Yukio... I trust you can... look after them while I'm gone...?" Oha asked.

Yukio nodded and said, "That's my job, Namekura-sama."

Oha smiled and slipped on her shoes by the front door. She found a light sweater and threw that on as well. Pulling her hair out from the collar of the sweater and then finding her keys, she said, "If I'm not back... before Wild comes home... tell her that I... went out."

"If it's not too bold of me to ask, where exactly are you going?" Loaño wondered.

"I'm going to... meet a friend," Oha said carefully, glancing at Warugamon.

Warugamon gave a loud grunt and gently grasped Loaño's hand in his jaws. He tugged a little and then said, "Let 'er go. I's rude ta ask stuff like 'at, pup."

Loaño nodded and sat down beside Yokomon. Koromon hopped up on the couch as well and the two little digimon began bouncing around. Warugamon seemed to see the sense in not getting up on the couch as well, seeing as he was rather large. That, or it had something to do with dogs not usually being allowed on couches.

"We'll tell her that, then," Yukio decided.

"I left my... number on the kitchen... table," Oha told them, opening the front door. Cool springtime air drifted into the room. "Don't be afraid to... call me if... something comes up. I left some... snacks and... some lunch in the fridge... and you are welcome to... the tea..."

"Just go, Namekura-sama," Loaño told her, smiling. "We'll clean up any mess that we make – don't be late with meeting your friend on our account."

Oha gave them a soft smile and murmured, "OK... good bye, then!"

And then she was gone. The door was shut softly behind her and they listened as her car drove off down the road, and then they were alone in the Namekura house.

"So... what now?" Loaño asked.

"I have no idea," Yukio admitted.

* * *

Wild sat down with her lunch and sighed. The day had been dragging on until this point and it seemed like it might never end... but she knew that lunchtime meant it was almost over. She was anxious to get back to her house and see the condition that the digimon, Loaño, and Yukio had left it in. It made her twitch a little to think about the mess that could possibly be waiting for her.

"What the hell got up your skirt?" Meg wondered sharply, sitting down beside her. She plopped her tray rather loudly on the table beside Wild's own, causing the broth in Wild's soup bowl to shake and nearly spill. Wild quickly reached over and steadied it with her fingers, insuring that no broth spilled on her other food.

Meg laughed at that. "It all ends up in the same place, Tatsu-chan; who cares what it looks like when it gets there?"

"I do," Wild growled rigidly.

"You're positively nutters," Meg commented. She broke apart her chopsticks and plopped her tofu into the broth. She made sure to keep it there long enough for it to soak up flavor. "I don't mind living here and all but the food kind of stinks sometimes."

"I know how you feel," Nikolai complained as he came over. "This stuff doesn't even fill me up half the time." He sat down across from the girls and looked at his food, his curly hair hanging down around his face. The school's dress code allowed for one article of school-appropriate personal affects – in Wild's case, it was her ascot. In Nikolai's, it was his hair. Unfortunately, the school forced him to tie it up in a ponytail... so he looked a little ridiculous. Thankfully, it was almost impossible to mistake him for a woman, thanks to his muscular frame.

_Foreigners,_ Wild thought crossly. "If you don't like it, pack your own lunches," she said curtly. She found her chopsticks and used them to squeeze her tofu into little squares. She separated the like ones from the unlike ones, and then tossed the unlike ones into the broth first.

"I'm not unused to eating it," Nikolai reminded her. "It's just been a long time. I like trying different foods from different places... I really like cooking, so trying different things gives me ideas... but school food has never been my favorite."

"You cook?" Meg wondered, her tone suggesting that she didn't really care whether he answered or not. "And here I thought you were some macho-man or something stereotypically ridiculous like that."

"My Mum can't cook worth anything," Nikolai admitted. "I sort of... took over once I figured that out."

Wild felt that her tofu bits had soaked for long enough, so she pulled them out and ate them, one by one. Then, she put the ones that were shape most similarly into the broth. The others were simply attacking their food as any normal person would do – Nikolai was switching between brother and tofu and the small salad that accompanied the meal. Meg was just stuffing her face without a single fuck given. At least Nikolai was a little neater.

"How do you think they're doing at your house, Wild?" Nikolai wondered, between bites.

"I don't care, but they'd better not mess anything up in Tatsu-chan's room or she'll murder them," Meg said, interrupting before Wild had a chance to speak. "I did that once and holy shit on a stick, I was actually genuinely afraid for my life."

Wild tugged her ascot and grunted, "I don't like it when my flow is disturbed."

"I accidentally kicked over a corner of her bloody rug," Meg chuckled, food in her mouth. "It was scary and really hilarious at the same time."

"Shut up, Meg," Wild decided, poking her on the side of the head with her chopsticks. She wiped them off and continued eating. "I just don't like it when my stuff is chewed up."

"So, uh, how's Lo doing?" Nikolai wondered.

"Glad to see that _Lo_ is catching on," Meg decided. "That girl needs a different name that doesn't take a shit ton of effort to pronounce."

"And yet you put a shit ton of effort into saying that," Wild countered.

"Don't make me spill your soup, Tatsu-chan."

"She's a little nervous, but she's fine," Wild reported, ignoring Meg's statement. "She slept through the night, at least." _More than I did, at least,_ she added as an afterthought. The idea of someone inhabiting her eldest brother's old room made her so uncomfortable that she had fidgeted for hours. That, coupled with talking to Loaño about her family, made her all the more uncomfortable. Koromon had slept soundly, but it took a while for Wild to be comfortable enough to sleep.

"That's good," Nikolai said, looking down at his food. "I want to help her, you know... I want to... I want to help her figure out where she came from. Who her family is."

"I'd like to do that, too," Wild admitted. _Though my reasons are different than yours, I think,_ she thought, looking at the boy's face.

"Does she remember anything?" Meg wondered.

"No," Nikolai told her. "She doesn't seem to remember a thing about being here. I wish I knew why..."

"We'll figure it out," Wild assured him. "We've really nothing else to do while she's here. I can start looking for someone of her description going missing in old police databases and look through other restricted records while you and Yukio take a more... legal approach."

"And that might be?"

Wild shrugged, "I wouldn't know. Why would I do something the roundabout way when I can do it the easiest way?"

"Because you could be arrested?"

"Haven't been arrested yet," Wild commented. "Please don't doubt me, Nikolai; that's not a wise thing to do."

"Note taken," Nikolai sighed. He laid down his disposable chopsticks and sighed, "Well; I'm done. I'll see you guys later, I guess."

He took his tray and left the table. Wild watched him throw his food away and walk out of the cafeteria, hands in his pockets. Wild turned back to her food and continued eating.

"He likes that girl," Meg decided.

"Yep," Wild replied.

Meg stuck out her tongue and then said, "Wonder how long it'll take before he gets into her pants..."

"I'm not betting against you, Meg."

"Because you know you'll lose?"

"... Because I don't like betting."

Meg nudged her and chuckled, "You're just a sore loser."

Wild flushed and growled, "Am not!"

* * *

"Come on, we can get them now – get it over with!" The young man whined. He looked into the cafeteria and insisted, "If we take them out now, we won't have a problem at all!" He looked nice in his school uniform, though he didn't like wearing it. His tan skin stood out amongst the much paler students of the school, and his hair was dark and messy.

"In the middle of school?" the girl sighed. She rolled her eyes and gestured to the green-maned boy beside her, saying, "Even _Veikko_ isn't that insane."

"Yeah, seriously," the aforementioned Veikko grunted.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" the dark-haired boy growled.

"Something that's not rash and stupid, for one," the girl snapped crossly. "Seriously, Evan; have you no tact?"

"I've got plenty of tact," Evan insisted. "But I think we should get them out of the way – and quickly – before they get too strong!"

"We can't be too obvious about it," the girl insisted.

"We need to be secretive," Veikko added. "They're not as stupid as we think they are."

"Exactly," the girl agreed, smiling. "That's why I'll be handling this _my_ way."

"Oh, really?" Evan said, smiling. "So you're going to sleep with all of them, Izanami?"

Izanami lashed out with an open palm and the _SLAP_ rang out throughout the hallways. Some students stopped to stare, shocked, at Izanami. Veikko let out a _hiss_ and a cackle and they walked away, frightened of the strange green-maned boy. Izanami, red-faced, nodded her thanks to Veikko for that.

"God Nami, I was _joking!" _Evan _hiss_ed, rubbing the spot where she had slapped him.

"Well, stop it," Izanami insisted. "I'm sick of your joking like that. Just because I'm out of your league means that you can think of me like that? It's disgusting. I use what I need to use to get by. I certainly don't want to face our Master's wrath, do you?"

"No," Evan agreed, recovering.

"Good... then we're doing things my way," Izanami declared. "Anyone got a problem with that?"

"Nope~" Veikko decided.

"... No," Evan agreed, sighing.

"Good," Izanami affirmed, nodding. Crossing her arms over her breasts, she said, "Come on; let's discuss this somewhere... more private."

* * *

Oha stepped up to the front door of a rather lavish home out in the middle of nowhere. It had taken her a few minutes to recall just where her old friend lived – thankfully her memory had not deserted her as her strength had. She politely rang the doorbell and then gave the door four good, yet soft, knocks with her knuckles.

The door was answered a few moments later, not by her old friend, but by a boy in his late teen years with short-cut white-gray hair. He was thin and lanky, his shoulders low. His face was drawn and serious and much older than his years, and his eyes were a bright splash of red flecked with gray. He wore a dark gray sweater and blue-jean pants.

"Ah!" Oha breathed, recognizing the boy. "H-Hullo, Dominic... My, y-you've grown..."

"Namekura-sama," Dominic realized. "You must be here to see Mother."

Oha nodded and said, "Is she... here?"

Dominic nodded and said, "She's just finishing up some paperwork from yesterday. She told me you might be arriving soon, so she sent me up to meet you. Come on in."

The boy stepped away and let Oha enter. The room she stepped into was large and pretty, decorated with modern furniture and paintings. Oha smiled when she realized that the painter had been the same one who had done the portrait of her family. _So here is where they all ended up, afterward... I had forgotten..._

She slipped out of her shoes and Dominic politely took her coat and hung it up. Oha wrung her hands nervously and then asked, "How is your brother, Dominic? Is he settling well in school?"

Dominic led her to a sofa where a gorgeously white cat was lounging. Her coat was so white it seemed to be shining. A little red ribbon was tied around her neck. When Oha sat, the cat stood up and _meow_ed at her.

"Haseo is fine," Dominic told her. "He just started his third year of Elementary School – he's settling in well."

"That's good," Oha breathed. "He was so... little... the last time I saw him..." At least, it had seemed that way. Haseo wasn't always fond of company, so he hardly showed his face when guests were in.

Dominic sighed and then said, "I'll prepare the tea and get Mother. She'll be with you shortly."

The boy left, his lanky form disappearing into the kitchen. Oha allowed the lovely cat to crawl into her lap and petted her as she _purr_ed.

With a smile, Oha said, "You look lovely... CrystalGatomon."

"Thank you," the cat _purr_ed.

"And you're... starting to sound... more like a cat," Oha commented.

CrystalGatomon shook her fur and it was as if she had just taken a bath – her disguise slipped off of her like water from a duck's feathers. Beneath the shimmering exterior was a slightly larger cat, though still delicate-looking. Her ears were topped with light gray fringes, as was her tail. The ribbon remained, and her eyes changed to a lovely crystalline blue.

"It's been hard," the cat admitted. "But thank you."

Oha smiled and pet CrystalGatomon gently. "So... what about the... boys'... digimon?"

CrystalGatomon licked one of her paws and said, "Ghastmon was with Dominic when you came in – could you tell? That little bugger likes turning invisible so no one can see him! I have to smell just to find him before he pounces on me!"

Oha laughed a little at that.

"And Dodomon wasn't born all that long ago," CrystalGatomon went on, lashing her tail to and fro. "He bites _everything._ Especially my poor tail."

"CrystalGatomon, are you complaining to our guest?" someone called.

"Apologies, Yosuya," CrystalGatomon admitted. "Oha has always had a listening ear, that's all... and she inquired about the young digimon."

A tall woman stepped into the sitting room. She was the picture of loveliness, especially at her age. Her hair was long and white and beautiful, her eyes bright red. She wore fine clothes and made Oha look something like a beggar in comparison. Her makeup was applied perfectly. She held out her arms and said, "My dearest Oha! It feels like its been forever!"

"It does," Oha said quietly.

Yosuya Misaki placed her hands on her hips and stated, "Come on, then; I know this is important. Let's get our tea and our lunch and talk about it. Come – there's no time to waste!"


	32. Episode 32

**Episode 32: A Talk At Teatime**

The tea was hot and the lunch was very good. Yosuya was a wonderful cook, amongst the other things she could do wonderfully. They ate mostly in silence, except for the typical talk of _How are you?_ or _How are your kids doing?_ Dominic had graduated from high school the year before and had taken an entrance exam for The University of Tokyo – he was still waiting for the results. He wanted to be a detective and work in law enforcement, according to Yosuya, and he had the conviction to do so. Haseo, her youngest son, however, had just started his third year of elementary and seemed to be doing fine.

Oha had talked of her children, too, trying to keep it light and not reveal the true reason of her being here. Yosuya seemed to sense that she was keeping something back, but to her credit she said nothing about it. Oha talked of Toushi in medical school, and how he had visited last weekend. She expressed that it was nice to see him.

"Tatsuya still won't go near him?" Yosuya had asked, an eyebrow raised.

Oha only nodded. Sometimes she wondered if her children knew that she had noticed the divide between them. Yosuya sighed into her cup and gestured for Oha to go on. Oha talked of Tatsuya as well, saying with admiration and a little regret that she was just like her father and Tekku rolled into one.

"How long has it been since she's visited therapy?" Yosuya asked then, very suddenly, as if it had just come to her mind.

"Years," Oha replied. "A-At least five. She... she stopped when she... entered high school."

"Does she still take medicine?"

"No," Oha replied, shaking her head. "Her doctor said that... it was too risky... for someone as young as her... to be taking antidepressants. He said that... it might make her... condition worse."

Yosuya sipped her tea and then shook her head. "What a strange child... Trauma at a young age can cause several types of disorders; but I've never heard of obsessive-compulsive disorder being one of them. I don't mean to depress you, Oha; please, continue."

Oha went on nervously to say that Tatsuya had a very, very good chance of getting into a great university and hopefully to go beyond that and do... whatever it was that Tatsuya wanted to do with her life.

"You don't know?" Yosuya asked.

Oha shook her head. "She won't tell... anyone," she replied. "I've asked."

"Did Tekku ever tell you what he wanted to be when he grew up?"

Oha shook her head again, her heart aching for her first son. Yosuya said nothing further but, "Well... you obviously came here to do more than chit-chat about our children and our lives. I'll clean up and then we can talk about what's really bothering you, alright?"

Yosuya stood and began clearing away the dishes. She rinsed the tea cups and plates, but left the remaining bit of their lunch on the table just in case one of them got snackish during their talk. She wiped the table and then got two cups of water, one for each of them, before sitting down again. She slid a cup across the table to Oha and took a little sip of hers as CrystalGatomon leaped up onto the table. She laid down near Yosuya, her tail flicking back-and-forth.

"So, what is it?" Yosuya wondered.

Oha held her cup anxiously and then said, "The digimon have come back."

Yosuya froze, her red eyes wide. She looked at CrystalGatomon, whose ears were pricked with interest now. The lovely cat sat up and curled her tail around her paws. "What's this now?" Yosuya asked, concern etched into her voice.

"Tatsuya has been to... the Digital World," Oha explained. She went on to repeat everything that Tatsuya had told her yesterday afternoon. She told Yosuya everything – about Koromon and Warugamon, about Nikolai and Yukio and their digimon, and about the Princess, Loaño, and how she was staying at Oha's right now. Yosuya and CrystalGatomon listened intently, especially when it came time to talk about the dangers that Tatsuya and the others had faced while in the Digital World – that strange monster and its three helpers.

When Oha was done, Yosuya slammed her fist onto the table and cried, _"Fuck!_ I thought we got _rid_ of that fucker!"

CrystalGatomon waved her tail and said with a soothing tone, "Yes... so did I. But apparently the King's sacrifice wasn't enough to send it back to where it came from."

Oha bit her lip until she tasted blood, trying to keep her emotions tied back. Images from long ago flashed into her mind – Henshu giving her the box that lay beneath her bed now and promising that he would come back, and Tekku... oh, Tekku... such a brave boy...

Yosuya shook her head and said, "I'm sorry... I know that this news is a lot worse for you than it is for me... just... _fuck!_ I thought it was over..."

"So did I," Oha murmured.

"At least the kids are safe," Yosuya lamented. "That's good."

"Crisis must still be weakened," CrystalGatomon guessed. "Even if it had the humans break the seal for it, the effort of simply waking up from its long sleep must have weakened it incredibly. It must be trying to regain its former power. Perhaps these new Digidestined can defeat Crisis in its weakened state? Send it away for good?"

"I don't know," Yosuya sighed. "But it can't be happy, that's for sure – having those four trying to stop it must be reminding it of what happened to it before. No wonder it tried to kill them back then."

Oha flinched at that. Yosuya reached over the table and rested her hand gently on Oha's. "I'm sorry; but it's true," she said kindly. "Crisis was programmed to take down anything that would get in its way – Henshu discovered that, you know. That meant it knows what will eventually destroy it; and it was trying to eliminate them before they could."

The white-haired woman sat back in her chair and sighed. She went on, "But all of this means that one of us is going to have to explain what happened to them. Anatole and Katsura aren't here. Solidad certainly won't say anything to Nikolai; you know her. She's a smart woman, but she'll do whatever she can to protect her son... and even if Katsura was here, Yukio wouldn't remember her – she and Natsu split up only a year after he was born. It's up to us, Oha. I know you don't want to relive that moment in your life and, well, neither do I... but we can't let them go on in the dark."

"How is the Princess?" CrystalGatomon demanded impatiently.

Oha flinched and then said, "S-She's fine. A little... nervous... but fine."

"CrystalGatomon, don't be so demanding; this is Oha we're talking to," Yosuya reminded her. "I realize that Loaño is important to the Digital World now -"

"_Important?"_ CrystalGatomon interrupted, sounding insulted, "Yosuya, that child is more than _important_ now; she's _essential!_ If she should fall into their hands again the Digital World is doomed... and the Human World as well." Her lovely white fur was standing on end.

Yosuya reached over and tugged on one of CrystalGatomon's ears. The cat let out a _yelp_ and _hiss_ed at Yosuya. The white-haired woman stated, "I was wondering about her strictly from the point of view of someone who knew her family and didn't want her hurt."

CrystalGatomon grumbled to herself, rubbing her ear with one paw. "Apologies," she said.

Yosuya nodded in acceptance and then folded her hands together. She looked to Oha and then said, "So Tatsuya, Nikolai, and Yukio have all been given partners, eh? Well, at least that much has changed. We went into the Digital World with nothing but the clothes on our backs and a sense of _what the fuck is happening?"_

"It must be easy for you joke... about this," Oha decided. "Your children... aren't being subjected... to this..."

"Yeah, you're right," Yosuya agreed. "I just couldn't help but find the humor in it, that's all. Henshu, Anatole, and Katsura were the ones who most chiefly opposed Crisis. They were the ones who came up with the plan of helping the King seal it away. The children of the three humans who orchestrated Crisis' first failure have returned to finish the job! It must really be pissed."

"You're forgetting Her Highness's father, Yosuya," CrystalGatomon pointed out. "Her father was the Guardian of the Digital World, along with that mongrel knight KiddGarurumon."

"We can't hate Kidd too much, CrystalGatomon," Yosuya reflected. "The King trusted him enough to allow him to be his one personal guard."

"_We_ were his personal guards," CrystalGatomon growled. "It has and always will be the job of the Royal Knights to guard the ruler of the Digital World. We guarded Yggdrasil until the day he stepped down, and we continued to guard the King until he... departed us. We should be guarding the Prince and the Princess; not _just_ KiddGarurumon. He is no Royal Knight. And don't tell me the Boss is a suitable guardian either – he's not, I assure you!"

Yosuya chuckled and said, "Such a prickly cat! My, my, CrystalGatomon... how ruffled you are!"

"Shut up," CrystalGatomon grunted, flattening her ears.

"So... what do we do?" Oha wondered.

"If Kidd's here, then I'm sure I'll be getting a visit from them soon enough," Yosuya admitted. "I suppose I'll take it upon myself to explain about Crisis and what happened ten years ago. I imagine Tatsuya won't take too well to hearing this explained."

"But it must happen," Oha murmured.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Yosuya said, sighing. "As much as I was hoping that the subject would never come up again, and that it was laid to rest all those years ago, it seems to me that the past likes to be dredged up now and again. But don't worry – I'll take care of it. How's about you and I go and do something less depressing?"

"Hm? Like... what?"

Yosuya shrugged. "Shopping, walking, I don't know. We could play a board game or something, even. I'm leaning more towards the shopping, though."

"That... That is fine," Oha told her.

Yosuya gave her a nice, kind smile. She stood up and said, "Then let's go. CrystalGatomon, you're on babysitting duty!"

CrystalGatomon looked offended by that, and she countered, bristling, "Don't we have more important things to think about than _shopping?"_

Yosuya paused, and then said, "No. Not at the moment. The children are fine for right now. I'm not in a rush to explain all these things to them – bad memories and whatnot. I'll wait until Kidd gets up the guts to come and see us first. Now _that_ will be worth waiting for, don't you think?"

CrystalGatomon didn't seem to like how aloof Yosyua was being about this, but the mention of Warugamon sacrificing his pride made her tail twitch a little. "Fine," she decided. "But hurry, will you? It is a school night, after all."

"Oh, if we're out too late Dominic can always drop Haseo off to school in his car," Yosuya chuckled. "And if you're worried about my meetings tomorrow, don't – I've got it all under control, CrystalGatomon."

The lovely cat sighed and then repeated, "Fine. I shall see you later, then."

Yosuya crossed the room to Oha's side and took the woman's hand in hers. Yosuya helped Oha to stand and then put an arm around her, saying cheerfully, "Come on then; I think you could do with an update to your wardrobe!"

* * *

"So, you're going straight home then?" Meg wondered, holding the straps of her backpack in both hands.

"Yeah," Wild replied. "I don't see the need to go anywhere else. I need to make sure that Lo and Yukio handled themselves all right."

"I'm sure they did," Nikolai admitted. He twirled the keys to his mother's car on one of his fingers and said, "How 'bout I come with you? I can drop Meg off and we can -"

"Oh, no," Meg growled, cutting Nikolai off. "You're not casting me aside like some cheap toy or something. I'm _part_ of this now – you made sure of that when you dropped them off at my house and I had to hide them. I'm going home with Tatsu-chan."

Wild frowned and began, "I don't think that's such a good idea, Meg…"

"Shut up," Meg grunted. "It's happening."

"Fine," Wild groaned. She looked to Nikolai and said, "I guess we're all getting a ride, then?"

"Sure," Nikolai replied, sighing. "I'll just need to pick up Tsunomon from my house, though. I can't leave him with my Mum all day."

* * *

They were greeted warmly upon their return to Wild's house. Yukio closed his laptop, long since finished with his homework – he had been showing the little digimon some videos on YouTube that had made them laugh so hard they forgot how to breathe – and greeted them as they all took off their shoes. Tsunomon bounced out of Nikolai's arms to join his young digimon companions.

"How did things go?" Wild asked immediately, looking about the house with an eye keen for any little difference that she didn't know about beforehand. Meg elbowed her hard when she saw what she was doing, and Wild snapped out of it. Her stomach was still fluttering, though.

"Just fine," Yukio admitted. "The digimon were well-behaved and I managed to keep them entertained, thanks to YouTube."

"I hope you didn't show them anything scarring," Meg growled.

"You must be Grumpy-chan," Yukio decided. "I'm Yukio."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm dropping my shit off in your room, Tatsu-chan," Meg announced. She pushed past Yukio and they could hear her feet _thump_ on the stairs as she walked up to Wild's room.

Wild pulled at her ascot and then asked, "Where's my Mom?"

"She said she was going out with a friend," Yukio replied. "She told me to tell you that she should be back this evening."

_Going out with a friend?_ Wild thought. That was most unusual of Oha – she hardly left the house at all! Why would she choose now to go and visit one of her friends? Wild shook her head of it and walked into the living room, finding that the little digimon had made a pile of themselves on the floor. Yokomon rested on the top of the pile, her root-like legs tangling up around the smaller digimon. Warugamon lay on the floor, looking at the little digimon with amusement in his icy eyes.

The instant that Koromon saw Wild, he broke from of Yokomon and bounced over to her, his mouth open to expose all of his little, sharp teeth. _"Wild!"_ he called happily. His bounces were uneven, however, and the last bounce that should have landed him at her feet instead caused him to crash into her leg. Wild fell over, unbalanced, and landed on her backside with Koromon tangled in her legs and a pain in her tailbone.

"_I missed you!"_ Koromon cried. He bounced onto her lap and snuggled into her like a lonely child. Wild flushed and put an arm around him.

"I told you I was coming back," Wild reminded him quietly.

"I know, I know," Koromon sobbed. "But I _missed_ you!"

"We were all worried," Yokomon put in. "We didn't know what might happen to you two without us." Yukio walked over to the couch and sat down again, sliding his laptop back into his pack with his other things. Yokomon crawled over and sat on his lap.

"Why can't we come with you?" Tsunomon wondered, looking up at Nikolai. Nikolai bent down and picked up his partner, frowning.

"They can' do 'at," Warugamon grunted. "If'n you guys go wit' 'em ta school, you'll be found."

"No we won't!" Koromon insisted.

"What 'bout when ya gotta go to the bathroom, or when yer 'ungry?" Warugamon asked. "Ya canna wander 'round the school… and ya canna stay in their lockers in their backpacks."

"So… just don't go to school!" Yokomon chimed. "Yukio doesn't and he's fine."

"All of my classes are online, Twinkle Toes. I still go to school, technically. I still have to do the work," Yukio told her, sternly but gently. "It would be the same for Wheatley and Wild. They'd still have all the work to do; they'd just have to do it here, with you distracting them."

"Oh," Yokomon murmured. "Sorry, then…"

Koromon let out an impetuous whine. "But I don't want Wild to get hurt…" he complained.

"I'll be fine," Wild insisted. "I'm more worried about you guys trashing my house."

"Speaking of, where's Loaño?" Nikolai wondered.

"She wen' outside," Warugamon told him.

Nikolai flushed and said, "I… I'll go check on her." He set down Tsunomon and his things and went back out the back door into the backyard. Meg came down from the second floor just then, and she knelt down beside Wild and the little digimon. She looked around and then grunted.

"So… where's Lo and the British one?" she asked.

"Outside," Warugamon replied with a growl.

"Both of them?"

"Aye."

"Damn," Meg decided. "He really _does_ want to fuck her."

"Meg!" Wild growled. "Stop that!"

"What? It's prolly true," Meg said, shrugging. "I just don't care whether it is or not."

* * *

Nikolai stepped out into the backyard and was floored. He had no idea how he didn't notice all of this before – the Namekura's backyard was like a lush, tropical Eden. Bushes and trees and flowers of all kinds seemed to cover the ground itself, with only a little path of stepping-stones that weaved between them. Zen fountains and little glass ornaments decorated nearly every part of the garden, giving it all a nice, relaxing feeling. A massive, old sakura tree grew near the back of the yard, its flowers still pink.

That was where he found the Princess. He found her sitting on a swing that had been set up using one of the sakura tree's thicker branches as its anchor. Two ornate glass sculptures hung from another branch nearby, casting brilliant lights about the area. Nikolai couldn't help but whistle at all of it.

"If only my Mum gardened this much," he reflected.

"Wild said that her Mom really doesn't do much else _but_ garden," Loaño admitted. "She must love to tend to all these plants. All the work that goes into them… Namekura-sama doesn't look like she could handle it." She looked up at him – yet didn't meet his eyes – and asked, "How was school?"

"Fine," Nikolai replied, sighing. He leaned up against the trunk of the tree and said, "I got paired up with someone I don't even know for a project about ancient Shinto traditions. I guess I have to put up with her, though – the project's worth three-quarters of my marks. If I don't do it, I won't pass."

"What happens if you don't pass?"

"Well, that class is required for graduation, so I suppose I won't graduate," Nikolai answered. "This being my last year and all, I'd like to graduate."

"_Graduate…"_ Loaño repeated, as if she'd heard the word before, but never really understood what it meant.

"It means I don't have to go to school anymore," Nikolai explained patiently. "It means I can go on to college, if I want."

"Ah," Loaño breathed. She hung her head and said, "Sorry; I'm still trying to take all of this in… I read books all about the Human World in the Digital World… but coming here seems to have made me forget nearly everything that I've learned. That or I just don't know how to apply any of it."

"You'll get the hang of things," Nikolai promised. He laid a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him. "You just have to give things a try, that's all. I mean, I'm sure it's obvious that I'm not from here – I've had to relearn a lot of things just to assimilate into this culture and not look like a total idiot. Britain and Japan are two very different places."

Loaño frowned and leaned her head on one of the ropes that held up the plank of wood she was sitting on. "Why do I feel like I'm just not going to be able to do anything right, though?" she wondered quietly.

"I'll help you," Nikolai told her. "We all will. We've got your back, Lo; don't worry. We'll make sure everything works out all right."

He held out his hand and she took it. He helped her out of the swing and gave her a reassuring smile.

She turned to him and said, "Thank you." She stood up on her toes and pressed her lips gently against his cheek. She was still for a moment, before she let go of his hand and turned to leave.

Nikolai reached for her hand again, but she was already partway to the door. He pulled his hand back and scowled at himself. Then, he shook his head and insisted that it was for the best before following her back inside.


	33. Episode 33

**Episode 33: A Strange, Musical, Dream**

Izanami looked up at the darkening sky. She pulled her sweater over her bare shoulders, cursing the fact that she had to be out here waiting on such a cool night… and in her pajamas, no less. She swore it was just Evan trying to mess with her.

_Should have made Veikko wait out here instead,_ she thought, _but that wouldn't work out too well if Father caught him in our backyard…_ Her father wasn't overly fond of people he didn't approve of hanging out on his property… and he especially didn't approve of young men hanging about his only daughter. If Evan or Veikko were caught where she was standing, they would be in serious trouble – and so would she.

She looked back down just as a large Digital Gate began to open there, in the darkest reaches of her yard. The lengthening shadows hid the portal perfectly and shrouded it from view. Izanami, however, could see the purple corruption outlining the Gate and smirked.

Izanami was about to take a step towards the portal when the most haunting melody reached her ears. It touched her heart and shook her stomach, causing her to falter and stop. The music was beautiful and terrifying at the same time, and Izanami had to steel herself to resist the urge to follow the tune.

"Like it?" asked Evan as he stepped out of the portal. Behind him came the source of the music, a digimon not much taller than him. In his eyes Izanami could see that he was totally under Evan's control and that the music was simply a joke being played on her. Evan chuckled and threw down the hood of his cloak. It melted away all around him as he stepped out of the shadows, revealing his everyday clothing.

"Yes; but make it stop that racket," Izanami insisted. "You don't want to wake anyone up."

Evan snapped his fingers, and the music stopped. For a moment, Izanami felt herself open her mouth to order him to allow it continue, but she regained a hold on herself just before that could happen. _What an asshole, but he found a good one…_ she thought.

She walked up to the digimon, shivering a little at the chill in the air, and examined it. She walked all around the creature and then turned to Evan and punched him in the shoulder.

"_Ow!"_ he complained, rubbing the afflicted area. "That _hurt_, Nami!"

"Are you _stupid,_ Evan?!" Izanami _hiss_ed. "It's too weak! It'll get destroyed in no time! They have an Ultimate level digimon on their side now, Evan – _and_ KiddGarurumon – or had you forgotten that?"

"No, I haven't," Evan insisted. "But trust me, Nami, this guy won't disappoint. I beefed him up to be a lot stronger… and… well, I had to test the portal anyway. Next time, I'll definitely bring in something stronger."

"The only reason the Master gave us the ability to transfer digimon from the Digital World to the Human World was to eliminate the Digidestined as quickly as possible!" Izanami growled. "We could have done that in one swoop if you'd brought a Mega level!"

"I couldn't have done that!" Evan snapped back. "It takes a lot out of me to control high-level digimon, not to mention transferring them through the Digital Gates! I'm not the Boss here – I don't have limitless power. Not yet, anyway. None of us do. If we're going to summon a huge digimon, we're going to have to work together… and you insisted that I do this myself."

"Fine," Izanami conceded, sighing. "You have a point." She rubbed her temples, and then asked, "What happened to the digimon that you tested the transference out on? That little white rat-thing? Did you take it back?"

Evan was silent for a moment, and then he nodded. "Yeah, I took it back," he said.

Izanami raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a skeptical look. _"Really?"_ she wondered.

Evan cursed and then said, "OK – it bit me in the middle of the Gate while I was taking it back and then ran off to this end of the portal. But really, are we going to worry about that stupid thing? It doesn't pose a threat."

"It was one of the digimon in the Master's special interest," Izanami growled. "How could you let it run off like that?!"

"It was a little shrimp of a digimon and it didn't matter at all! If it matters that much to you, I can send _this_ digimon to get it back!"

"Do that!" Izanami insisted, her shoulders rigid. "The Master is already upset with us for losing the Princess; we can't risk more disappointment, or we're all screwed!"

She looked back and saw that one of the lights in the manor had _click_ed on. She froze and panicked slightly before turning back to Evan and _hiss_ing, "Take this thing out of here! We'll all talk about this tomorrow!"

"Fine," Evan grunted. He waved his hand and closed the portal. Then, he snapped his fingers. The digimon he had brought turned his head to face Evan. The two of them disappeared together, leaving Izanami alone in the night.

She took a deep breath to calm the pounding of her heart as she saw the light go off. She wrapped her sweater around herself more tightly and then went back inside, feeling stronger and more confident with every step. If Evan knew what he was doing, then the Digidestined were going to be in for a real surprise…

* * *

"Well, this sure beats walking to school every day," Meg grunted as she stepped inside Nikolai's mother's car. She closed the door behind her and buckled herself in, plopping her backpack at her feet. "We should befriend people who have awesome stuff more often, Tatsu-chan."

Wild rolled her eyes. Nikolai looked rather uncomfortable with that statement in the driver's seat, but he adjusted his rearview mirror and put the car in gear. He turned on some music and drove off towards the school. The song was something that Wild didn't understand – it was in English – but it seemed to be more bass than words.

"So… when did your Mum come home last night, Wild?" Nikolai wondered.

"Later than expected, with three bags of shirts and two more of pants and underclothes," Wild decided. She crossed her arms and grunted. Her mother had indeed come home with all of that stuff, but she had quickly put it in her room and locked herself inside with it. Very unusual behavior.

"Who did she go and see?" Meg wondered. "Fishsticks, I didn't think your Mum cared much for shopping."

"I don't really know my mother's friends," Wild admitted. "I've never met any of them. But she goes and sees them whenever she's feeling… adequately shocked, I guess you could say. Sometimes she comes back with things, but this time seemed much different than the last."

"You think that maybe the digimon thing is making her nervous?" Nikolai wondered.

"I don't think it, I _know_ it; I just can't figure out why," Wild grumbled, sighing. "My mother is always very nervous, but this… this is a different kind of nervousness. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it's weird and I'm sure something more is happening that we don't realize."

"Yeah," Nikolai agreed, "this whole Crisis situation stinks of secrets. The Boss especially – he definitely kept something huge from us."

Nikolai slowed the car and entered the school's parking lot. He parked his car and they all got out. He locked it up and followed them inside. Students were gathering in the halls, socializing before classes started. Some were in their rooms already, studying for tests or reading or even getting some extra sleep in before school began. Teachers and staff members milled about in the halls and saw that order was kept as they went about their routines.

Wild took out her binder for her first class and her laptop before tossing her bag into her locker and securing it. Meg took out her binder as well, along with some unfinished homework, and a candy bar that she opened and began to snack on. Nikolai found his supplies and met them in the mostly-empty cafeteria with ten minutes before class.

Meg sat down and began looking at her unfinished work. She sighed and began to actually work on it, though she didn't want to. Wild opened her laptop and turned it on, waking it up from its sleep. She began checking things here and there while Nikolai sat down across from the two girls. He tapped his binder boredly.

"I was thinking that we might go to my house again today to try and figure out some of Lo's past," Wild suggested. "The sooner we figure out who she was here in the Human World, the sooner she can adapt to this place and feel less… depressed."

"That's a good idea and all," Nikolai agreed, sighing, "but I've got to work on the Shinto history project."

"Then I can do my searching my way," Wild decided. She looked over the monitor of her laptop and wondered, "Shinto history project? I remember that. I did it last year with Meg."

"It was a _huge_ pain in the arse," Meg commented.

"It was only a pain because I made you do your fair share of the work," Wild reminded her. She looked back to Nikolai and said, "That project really depends on who you're partnered with."

"Some uppity high-brow-lookin' girl," Nikolai told her. "Izanabu or something."

"Izanami Sugeshini," Wild corrected.

"Yeah, her."

"You've got a good partner," Wild admitted. "Izanami is very thorough in her work. She's the top of our class in grades – never failed an assignment."

"How do you know that?" Nikolai wondered.

"Every month the school pays me one-hundred-thousand yen to recalibrate and debug the school's grading systems. That means I have temporary access once a month to the progression of each and every student in this high school. I'm trustworthy and much cheaper than the people who would normally come and do it… plus, I wrote and created the program that does it all anyway. I'm the only one who can update or repair it," Wild explained. "It was all very simple."

Nikolai blinked and then commented, "Wow. Ever try to change your grade?"

"No."

"Anyone else's?"

"Meg has begged me to a thousand times, but no," Wild replied simply. "I won't make a lazy person successful without them putting any effort into anything." She ignored Meg's sour look and then said, "I have nothing to gain by altering the scores of other people… or myself."

"Well, damn," Nikolai decided. "You're… you're really good at that sort of stuff. You must have loved the Digital World."

"I did, and I do," Wild admitted. "I'd also love to know more about it… and to do that, it mustn't be destroyed. So there's my motive."

"Come on, though," Nikolai breathed, "you've got to be at least second in the class, right?"

Wild shook her head.

"Third?"

She shook her head again.

"At least in the top ten!"

"Ranking doesn't motivate me," Wild told him. "Grades don't motivate me. I motivate myself. I put effort into the things I deem important to what it is I want to do with my life and what interests I have outside of that. Nothing more. If I wanted to, I could knock Sugeshini out of her top spot in an instant and leave her behind in my wake… but I have no desire to do that." _I don't want to spend my days like Toushi…_ she thought, behind it all imagining her brother's taunts and jibes.

"Blah, blah," Meg decided, closing her binder on her half-assed homework. "This is really boring and class is about to start. Let's get going."

* * *

Loaño rested her chin on her knees and frowned. She looked to the door that housed Oha Namekura's room behind it, and she shifted uneasily. That door hadn't opened since this morning, when Oha kindly made breakfast for everyone. She had taken her leave and scurried to her room with silent feet, shutting the door behind her. She hadn't come out since.

"She's fine," Yukio insisted boredly, his fingers _clack_ing away at his laptop's keyboard. He was busy doing his homework, and he didn't seem to care for much else.

"You think?" Loaño wondered. "She's been in there for a long time."

"Perhaps she wants to escape from the digimon," Yukio suggested. "You can see how anxious they make her."

Loaño looked at the digimon. Warugamon was lying on the floor, his head resting on his paws. The little digimon were curled up next to him, leaning on him as if he were a couch. They were watch television – Yukio had found a kid's movie that they seemed to really enjoy. They laughed a lot, anyway. Loaño didn't see the appeal in it, and neither did Warugamon, it seemed. The three bouncy digimon were entertained, however, and that was better than them bouncing around and breaking things in the Namekura's house.

_The digimon _do_ seem to make her anxious,_ Loaño thought. _Is she really afraid of them?_

_I don't think she's afraid of _them_, little one,_ the King replied, _but rather what they imply._

_What do you mean by that?_ She asked.

_She knows that these digimon will bring danger to her family,_ the King stated. _She worries for Tatsuya, and for the others, even though they're not her children. Tatsuya's summary of the events in the Digital World obviously didn't comfort her._

_Does she know that Wild and the others are safe, so long as they have their digimon partners?_

_Perhaps,_ the King mused, _but that doesn't stop her from being a mother._

_Should I check on her?_

_I think that would be rude,_ the King admitted. _This is her home; she is entitled to her privacy. You are a guest, and expected not to invade that privacy._

_A… Alright,_ Loaño thought. _I don't like leaving her all alone, but I suppose if that would be rude… Well, I don't want to be rude…_

The King seemed to agree, and then he disappeared from her thoughts. Loaño looked over at the shut door and shifted nervously. She didn't like the thought of that poor woman being in there, all alone. Ever since she came back from visiting her friend, there seemed to be more of a somber air about her – she seemed so much more morose than before.

_I wonder why…_ Loaño thought. _Why are you so sad all the time, Namekura-sama?_

Loaño leaned back on the couch and shut her eyes. Almost as soon as she did so, sleep overcame her – which was odd, because she couldn't remember being tired at all. She'd gotten good enough sleep the night before, after all, so this was unusual. She felt as if she were floating in a small patch of dark woodland – at least, it seemed much darker than it ought to have been, according to the sun above her. A haunting, terribly beautiful melody ran through the air, enchanting her ears – but she turned away, immune to its charms.

The melody persisted, getting louder and louder as the source of it got closer and closer. Loaño suddenly felt fear race through her heart, and she turned away from the music and began to run. She felt as if her legs were somehow not long enough to carry her as far or as fast as she needed, and the source of the melody was getting ever closer and closer to her. It almost sounded as if it were right at her heels.

She stumbled, but managed to regain her pace before the music caught her. She ran and ran until she saw an opening in the trees, casting a bright light everywhere and proclaiming safety. She burst through the trees just as she felt the music touch her shoulder, grasping for a grip on her. It shrank back as soon as she hit daylight.

Loaño had ended up in the middle of a grassy field. A huge, dark, stone-like path was between the field and what appeared to be a large structure made of red-brown stone. A tall pole held a large piece of white cloth out front. A large red dot was in the center of the snow-white cloth. Huge machines with large round feet were resting in a huge patch of the same dark stone. Loaño had seen all these sorts of things before, but they seemed so much larger to her for some reason – perhaps she was just that short?

Something compelled her to keep on towards the building, as if there would be safety there. She reached the path of dark stone and almost set foot on it when one of the huge monsters rushed past; creating a hurricane of wind that tossed her off her feet and caused her to hit her head, forcing her to see stars and blackness.

Loaño woke up with a start then, blinking in reality and everything in the living room. Her heart was still racing, as if it had all really happened, and the music that had tormented her was resting in her ears, playing faintly over and over again.

"You all right?" Yukio wondered, looking away from his homework. Warugamon had lifted up his head to look worried at her, but the little digimon were too engrossed in the movie.

"I-I'm all right," Loaño stammered. "Just a… just a _really_ weird dream…"

"I see," Yukio mumbled. He turned back to his work, beginning to type again. Warugamon tilted his head at her, but Loaño gave him a reassuring smirk. He set his head back down and closed his eyes, his ears perked up and indicating that he wasn't about to fall asleep anytime soon.

Loaño leaned her head back and thought, _What the hell was that?_

* * *

"I'll want to see all your research by next week," Izanami declared. "Look up all the information you possibly can on the festivals that I've listed here. I want you to keep your sources in check, too."

Nikolai looked down at the list. It was written neatly on a piece of lined paper. Nikolai had honestly no idea that there were so many ancient festivals back in the old Shinto era of Japan. Izanami must have stayed up all night looking this stuff up. He looked up at her, feeling stupid. She was a beautiful girl who carried herself as if she were already a fully grown woman, with the maturity in her voice to match. Her wealth was obvious – her earrings looked to have real diamonds, and her school uniform was much ritzier than anyone else's. She had a lovely and expensive pearl-and-coral comb holding her hair into a bun.

"Any questions?" she asked.

"Yeah," Nikolai began, "what parts are you doing?"

"I'll be handling the parts about the Shinto Gods and Goddesses and putting it all together into a PowerPoint presentation," Izanami replied.

Nikolai sighed. "Don't put yourself through all of that," he told her. "Can't we at least do the PowerPoint together? We're supposed to share the information equally so that we both understand it if we're asked something. How can I understand everything if you're the one doing all the work?"

Izanami raised an eyebrow to him. "Fine," she decided. Nikolai gave a sigh of relief – the last thing he wanted was his partner overworking herself and snapping at the last minute… or a failing grade on his part. "We both need this project to go smoothly to pass the class and graduate, so I suppose we'll do it your way. I don't want to get into a fight about it."

"OK, then," Nikolai said, nodding. "Oh, one more question…"

"What?"

"Why are we doing all this work now? The project isn't due for another month and a half."

Izanami gave him a cute smile and said, "I prefer to get my work done as early as possible. It leaves me more time to relax and have fun, not to mention it gives me time to double check it for errors. I don't like erroneous projects."

"Alright," Nikolai agreed. "Then I'll have all this for you by next Tuesday."

Izanami chuckled and admitted, "I think I'm going to have a good time working with you, Nikolai." She touched his hand, gave him a wink, and then went back to sit in her seat across the classroom.

Nikolai stared after her, confused. Then, he shook his head and turned to face the head of the class just as the teacher walked in. He didn't notice Izanami's triumphant smirk from where he sat, nor did he notice her head and shoulders bobbing up and down, as if she were laughing at something funny.


	34. Episode 34

**Episode 34: ****The Sordid Song of Petermon!**

"My backpack feels really heavy," Meg commented as she slipped into Nikolai's car. "I think I might have accidentally brought my homework with me, Tatsu-chan."

"That's probably the universe's way of telling you to… you know, _do it,"_ Nikolai told her, climbing into the driver's seat.

"Then the universe sucks," Meg growled. "It can go get attacked by drop bears or something. I'll see what I put in it at your house, I guess."

Wild sighed and buckled herself in. She yawned. Today hadn't been too stressful, but she was still recovering from her adventures in the Digital World. Going from a place where time went completely different than what you were used to and staying there for a little while really messed with one's internal clock. She knew she would be back to normal soon enough, but she still felt more tired than normal.

"So how's the project coming along?" Wild asked, leaning her head back on the headrest. Nikolai started the car, put it in gear, and then began driving.

"Izanami gave me a laundry list of, like, a hundred things to do research on before next week," Nikolai complained. He frowned and said, "Between that and this digimon stuff, I get the feeling I'm going to be really busy for a little while…"

"It's not so bad of a project," Wild told him. "Izanami is just the type of person who wants to go all out on it – make an impression, you know; shit like that."

"Heh, I feel bad for you," Meg admitted with a chuckle. "You're stuck with the one person who's more anal about shit than Tatsu-chan!"

Wild frowned and then said, "Shut it, Meg. I am not… _anal._ I prefer things to be a certain way, that's all."

"It took you three tries to get your bag on," Meg countered.

Wild looked out the window and growled, "I told you to shut it."

* * *

They were greeted by friend and digimon alike when they arrived back at Wild's house. Nikolai plopped his things down and sat on the floor, pulling out his homework. Tsunomon joined him as he began to work. Koromon and Wild sat together, watching the cartoon on the television. Wild really had no interest in it, but Koromon seemed to really enjoy it. Loaño sat near Nikolai, looking over his shoulder at his homework. Yukio and Yokomon were playing on Yukio's laptop.

Meg, meanwhile, reached into her bag and declared, "Time for food! I've been carrying around these chips since lunchtime and I -!"

"What?" Wild wondered.

Meg gave a gasp in a tone that Wild had never heard before. She picked up her backpack by the bottom and dumped the contents – wrappers, a CD-player, and a few other silly things – out onto the floor. She let out a primal growl as the very last thing came out of the pack.

"You evil little rat!" she swore.

The last thing to have fallen out of Meg's backpack was something that resembled a rat, yes; though not quite so nasty. It was a little white digimon with rather large ears and almost equally large green eyes. His hands, feet, and the tips of his wing-like ears were purple. On his forehead was a red triangle marking. He was about the size of Yokomon, and in his little hands was an empty bag of potato chips.

He gave out a guilty _burp_ and said, "I-I'm sorry…!"

"What the hell, Tatsu-chan?!" Meg demanded angrily, snatching the chip bag away from the white digimon. "I thought that your little rats were the _only_ little rats! Now I have to worry about digimon eating my food?!"

"Calm down, Meg," Wild said, holding out her hands. Koromon bounced off of her lap and wriggled up to the white digimon, sniffing him. Yokomon and Tsunomon approached closely, while Warugamon glowered at the little creature. With all the sudden attention, the white digimon looked very frightened. "I'm sure there's a decent explanation for this."

"Hey, cool it," Loaño decided. The others turned their attention to her. She stood up and approached the little digimon. She knelt down to his level and held out her hand, asking kindly, "I'm Loaño – who are you?"

The white digimon looked up at her, his green eyes shining in awe. He bowed – at least, it appeared that he did; he had very short legs – and said, "Y-Your Highness… I'm Calumon."

"Calumon?" Loaño repeated. She smiled, and then said, "All right. Can you tell me what you were doing in Meg's backpack, Calumon?"

"I-I was hiding," Calumon replied. "I needed a place to hide. The people that brought me here were going to take me back to the Digital World and do terrible things to me… I didn't want that to happen, so I escaped from them. I went and hid in the closest thing… I guess my hunger got the best of me, too. I'm really sorry about that…" He looked up and then wondered, "You guys must be the Digidestined, then! The humans that brought me here were talking about you."

"We are," Yukio said cautiously. He looked to Nikolai and wondered, "Is this Calumon… bad?"

"I don't think so," Nikolai replied. "I don't sense any of Aws's influence on him – do you, Tsunomon?"

Tsunomon shook his head. "He's telling the truth," the horned digimon stated.

"There," Loaño decided. She stood up, put her hands on her hips, and said, _"That's_ how you handle a situation like that."

"Thanks for the lesson," Meg grumbled. "But I want my chips back."

Calumon turned to Meg and mumbled, "I'm really sorry… I've been running for a long time, and I haven't eaten in so long…"

Meg crossed her arms and snorted, looking up and away from Calumon. Wild rolled her eyes and then said, "Don't mind her; she's just sensitive about her food. But what are we supposed to do with you? What are you doing here?"

"I told you; I was escaping from those mean humans who brought me here," Calumon repeated. His big ears shrank at the thought. "They were so mean to me… and so rough, too!"

Wild frowned. She didn't like the thought of that. "So, that means that Zen, Aws, and Sin can bring digimon here to the Human World," she realized aloud, looking at the others. "That's really fucking bad. They must have been testing it out on you."

"Yeah, they were," Calumon explained. "And they're trying to get me back now. They didn't want me to escape, but I had to. I couldn't go back to that evil castle!"

"They're coming after you?" Yukio asked.

Calumon shook his head and answered, "They sent a digimon after me. I can still hear the songs! The evil, evil songs!"

Loaño froze. "Songs…?" she murmured. "Did they sound something like this?" She bent down near Calumon, who extended his ears to listen, and began _humm_ing a strange tune. Wild twitched as she heard it, not liking the sound of it one bit. Koromon, Tsunomon, and Yokomon listened to Loaño intently, their eyes glazed over and appearing very dazed.

When she stopped, Calumon nodded. Warugamon pricked his ears and growled, "Tha' don' soun' good. Soun's like a Petermon."

"Petermon?" Nikolai wondered.

Warugamon nodded. Loaño looked up at the others and explained, "Petermon like using their music to gather up little digimon and force them to follow them wherever they go, even into danger. They're not very strong, but they're really dangerous if they're not dealt with quickly. Aws must have taken control of one and is using it to hunt this little guy here!"

"There's a digimon on the loose in the city?!" Yukio gasped. "That can_not_ be a good thing! If it attacks and other humans see it, it'll cause an uproar! I don't think the Human World is ready to discover digimon in that sort of way."

"No doubt," Nikolai agreed. He looked to Loaño and then asked, "Hey; how did you know that was Petermon's song, though?"

Loaño looked hesitant, but it cleared up quickly. She insisted, "It was just a guess. I've heard Petermon make music before. T-That's not the point, though; we've got to stop this guy before he does something we can't prevent."

"Right," Wild decided. She ordered, "Lo and Meg, you stay here and look after Calumon. Warugamon, you watch the house. Everyone else, come with me. We'll have to figure out some way of getting rid of Petermon without attracting too much attention, and then we'll meet back here to figure out what to do now that our enemies can come here, too. Understand?"

"Aye," Nikolai said, nodding. He cast aside his homework and picked up Tsunomon in his arms.

Yukio picked up Yokomon and said, "We're with you. We should be able to digivolve our partners and isolate Petermon somewhere that he won't draw too much attention."

"We'll think of a good place on the way," Wild decided. Koromon hopped into her arms, and she said, "Let's hurry this up. Calumon, where did you last hear that song?"

"Near the place where I jumped into that backpack," Calumon replied. "It faded away after that, though."

"We'll head over to the school first, then," Nikolai decided, pulling out his keys. "We can look from there. With any luck we'll have Petermon down before anyone notices him."

Wild nodded and the six of them moved to leave. Nikolai looked back at Loaño though, as if there was something he wanted to say. He could tell that there was something off about her explanation of her knowing about Petermon's song, but he knew there wasn't time. He shook the thought from his mind and followed the others.

Loaño watched them go, worry in her heart. She didn't want digimon to receive bad attention from humans, and she certainly didn't want humans to discover digimon so soon. She clenched her fists, wanting to run after them to help – but Wild wouldn't allow it. It wouldn't do for Zen, Aws, or Sin to find her here in the human world. Still, it hurt to feel so useless when the time came for action.

She sighed and looked back at Meg to find that the grouchy young woman was pulling Calumon's ears and shaking his senseless, demanding, "Give me back my chips you thieving bottomless pit!"

_I think I may have my hands full here, at any rate,_ she thought, frowning.

* * *

"This should be the place," Nikolai decided, pulling up to the side of the road. He put his car in park and pointed to the patch of woods across from the school. "This is the only place Petermon could have hidden, really. Calumon must have crossed the street and hopped into Meg's backpack from here."

"Alright," Wild decided. "We'll have to search pretty hard. You guys ready?"

The boys nodded. Wild opened her door and hopped out, Koromon in her arms. She reflected that at least the woods would disguise them. There weren't any houses too close to the woods. Koromon would have to be careful when he digivolved, though. They didn't want to set the forest on fire.

Yukio and Nikolai got out of the car, their partners in their arms, and the three of them jogged towards the woods. It was warm and silent beneath the leafy trees, and they were careful not to step on anything that might make a loud noise. Mushrooms grew up against the trunks of the trees, some small and tiny, others huge a huge canopy for bugs.

"You guys sense anything?" Wild wondered quietly.

"No," Koromon admitted, his crinkled ears alert and twitching.

"I don't smell anything," Tsunomon pointed out.

"And I don't see any sort of tracks," Yokomon confessed. "I mean, I see animal tracks, but those are animals from here… and a Petermon has human-like feet."

"We should be listening for the song," Nikolai told them. "If it were trying to attract something, then it would probably be playing the song."

Almost immediately after Nikolai mentioned that fact, music began drifting through the air. It sounded exactly like the tune that Loaño had _humm_ed, but something was definitely off about it. The little digimon squirmed in their partner's arms and looked at one another uncertainly.

Yukio looked to Wild and Nikolai and asked, "Should we follow it?"

Wild shrugged and said, "We really have no choice."

So they trekked on towards the source of the music. As it got closer, Wild began sensing that something was off. She could tell that the others were picking up on it, too. She frowned and stalked forward, her strides taking her a step or two ahead of the others. She looked back at Yokomon and Tsunomon, realizing that they didn't look as dazed as they had when hearing Loaño _hum_ the music.

"This isn't right," she decided.

Eventually they came to the source of the music. There was no clearing in the middle of the woods, but they came to the loudest point in the middle of a throng of trees. There, on the tree right before Wild, was the source of the music.

Someone had duct-taped an old mp3 player to the trunk of the tree and had attached it to a speaker nestled in a nook made by a branch and the trunk. A note was nailed to the tree just below the music player.

Wild tore the note off of the tree and read aloud, _"Well done. You guys are complete idiots. Aws._"

She looked back at the others. Nikolai swore, "That asshole!" Yukio frowned, looking displeased with the situation.

Wild turned and dismantled the mp3 player and the speaker. She shook her head and then kicked the tree. "Well, if Petermon's not here, then where the hell else could he be?" she wondered aloud, angry at Aws for deceiving them.

"I think I might have an idea about that…" Yokomon confessed.

* * *

Calumon spread his ears like wings when he discovered the backyard. He laughed gleefully and began gliding about the flowers and the bushes, stopping to smell almost everything. Warugamon watched him carefully, his tail flicking from side-to-side.

"You can't still be angry at him," Loaño complained to Meg. "He was scared and hungry! You can't blame him for eating the first thing that smelled like food."

Meg crossed her arms and maintained her frown. She grunted, "He could have at least _asked."_

"He's really sorry about it," Loaño reminded her. "He's new to this place, like the other digimon – and me. He didn't know the chips were yours."

Meg maintained her stubborn demeanor. Loaño rolled her eyes and sighed, consenting herself to watching the digimon play. Well, it was more or less watching Calumon play – Warugamon was alert for any sign of danger, and he didn't really participate in the playing. Calumon glided around the backyard like a butterfly, only occasionally flapping his wing-like ears. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

_He could have jumped into anyone else's backpack,_ she thought, _why would he jump into Meg's?_

_The universe has a funny way of getting us to meet new people,_ the King told her with amusement in his tone. _But if you're really that curious, why don't you ask him?_

"Hey, Calumon!" Loaño called, deciding to heed the King's advice. Calumon turned ino her direction and landed by her feet.

"Yes, Your Highness?" Calumon wondered, bowing a little as his ears shortened. He looked up at her with his big green eyes, waiting for her question.

"Did you know that Meg's backpack would be the right one to jump into? Or were you just guessing?" Loaño asked.

Calumon paused for a moment, his ears growing and shrinking as he thought. Then, after a moment, he said, "I didn't really know. Honestly, I didn't want to jump into her backpack. I just sensed something really familiar near her. It made me feel safe. So I jumped in the nearest backpack."

"So you didn't mean to come here with Meg?" Loaño wondered.

Calumon shook his little head and confessed, "I was hoping to find the source of the feeling I was getting… and, well, either way I suppose I did."

"Wait, you can sense the Spirits?" Loaño guessed. Her eyes widened at the realization – Calumon had sensed the Spirits within Wild and Nikolai – that was why he had followed them home!

Calumon nodded, "I suppose I can, yeah. I was really surprised to find them in the Human World, though."

"Wow, that's impressive," Loaño decided. She rubbed the back of her head and told him, "I can sense the Spirits too, but I thought it was just me who could do that. You followed Wild and Nikolai because they hold the Spirits of Flame and Light inside of them. Yukio has the Spirit of Wind. They share the Spirits with their partners."

"That's cool!" Calumon said, extending his ears and smiling. "I'm glad I jumped into Meg's backpack, then!" He flapped his ears and took to the air again, resuming his tour of the garden.

Loaño crossed her arms and thought, _That must be why they sent Petermon to get him back. That sense of his might be useful later on…_

_Perhaps,_ the King agreed. _But only if Crisis grows too strong. I would prefer that we stopped it before that happened. Still, it would be more than worth it to keep Calumon safe._

_But we can't keep him here,_ Loaño reminded him. _Namekura-sama would freak out if there were more digimon in her house. I don't think the others would want to babysit him, either._

_I never said he had to stay with the Digidestined; I meant he should stay with his partner, _the King corrected.

_His partner?_

_Yes._

_And who might that be?_

_I think I'll let you figure that one out, little one,_ the King told her, chuckling. He faded from her mind, leaving Loaño to ponder.

Meg's phone began playing music in her pocket. Loaño glanced her way as she answered it. It must not have been a call, because she didn't put it to her ear like other humans did with their phones. Meg fumbled with her phone, her eyes reading over the message, before she swore aloud, "Fucking fishsticks!"

"What is it?" Loaño wondered.

Meg put her phone back into her pocket and explained, "Tatsu-chan says that Petermon was nowhere to be found where they went. She said that the only other possible place for him to be would be…"

"Right here," Loaño realized, feeling a sense of dread. She turned around and there, on the roof of the Namekura house, stood Petermon, outlined in light but obscured with shadow.

Petermon leaped, spun in the air, and landed in the yard just before Calumon, crushing a large bush. His movements were swift and almost unreadable. Calumon didn't realize the danger and bumped headlong into Petermon, falling to the ground.

The enemy digimon reached down to pick up Calumon, but Warugamon leaped and caught his arm in his jaws. Petermon let out a horrible _yelp_ and stumbled backward. Loaño took that opportunity to rush forward and scoop Calumon up into her arms. She threw the small digimon at Meg, who, thankfully, caught him.

"Get him inside the house and don't come out no matter what!" Loaño ordered.

Meg looked like she was going to say something snarky, but she cradled Calumon in her arms with surprising care as she rushed back inside. Loaño saw her lock the back door – a feeble attempt to block Petermon should he enter the house, but it was all she could do.

Loaño turned back to Warugamon in time to see the wolf leap away from Petermon's elegant knife. Bristling, Warugamon barked, _"Frozen Breath!"_ A ball of flaming ice came from his mouth, striking Petermon in the chest. It struck hard, sending Petermon staggering back a few more steps.

_We have to hold him off until Nikolai can get here to Purify him!_ She thought. She wasn't going to destroy Petermon only to have him revive into endless cycles of Aws's Corruption. No, she would let Nikolai Purify him before she sent his Digiegg back to the Digital World.

Warugamon danced around Petermon's blade. He wasn't as fast as Petermon, but he was agile enough to make up for it. Petermon sliced the heads off of roses and chopped bushes to bits, but he didn't hit Warugamon but for once, and that was a glancing blow.

Loaño snuck up behind Petermon and allowed her DigiPower to flow freely. Really, she was risking the fact that it wouldn't work in the Human World, but it seemed to be working just fine. With her partner so close, it worked incredibly well, and she was able to send black-and-white tendrils of DigiPower towards Petermon.

Too late Petermon realized what was happening, and he was entangled within Loaño's DigiPower. She restrained his arms and his legs and covered his mouth so that he couldn't fight or sing. Holding him proved to be little challenge, though he struggled, and Warugamon was ready and waiting for the chance of him breaking out.

She sensed the Digidestined when they returned. They rushed through the gate to the backyard with Nikolai at their head, as if he sensed just what he needed to do. He and Tsunomon stopped just before Petermon and Nikolai placed his hand on the humanoid digimon's forehead. The others waited just behind him, waiting for things to either go one way or the other.

Loaño could feel the struggle between the combined force of Nikolai and Tsunomon and the Corruption within Petermon. Petermon's struggles grew more frequent and violent as Loaño sensed Nikolai forcing the Corruption from his Core. Finally, Petermon let out a sonorous screech as black-and-purple data poured from his mouth and into the sky like a fountain. It disappeared and Petermon went limp in his bonds.

She released him, and Petermon fell to his knees, his hands covering his face. The others watched with caution in their eyes, wondering if it had worked. Finally, after a moment, Petermon stood up shakily and said, "Thank you, Digidestined…"

"No problem," Nikolai breathed, relief plain on his face. The others sighed and relaxed a little.

"I'm so sorry," Petermon admitted. He looked up as Meg came back outside, Calumon in her arms. Oha Namekura was behind her, and the older woman looked about her garden with sadness in her eyes. "Please," Petermon begged, "can you forgive me?"

Calumon nodded and told him, "You weren't yourself. They were making you do all those mean things. I forgive you!"

Oha crossed her arms and then said quietly, "Plants grow back… plants heal."

Loaño smiled and said to Petermon, "You should go home."

Petermon nodded and said, "I would like that."

Loaño raised her hands and a black Digital Gate opened near Petermon. "That will take you to the Boss's castle," she said, "from there, go wherever you want."

The digimon bowed and told her, "You are kind, Princess. Thank you… and I am sorry."

Petermon turned and stepped through the portal. As he did, he began _humm_ing a sweet song for them all to hear. Loaño could feel his gratitude in his singing and regretted it when she had to close the portal and silence his song.

"Well, that worked out better than I'd hoped," Wild admitted. "I didn't think we were going to make it in time."

"I'm glad we did," Yukio said. "It's too bad that most of your garden was destroyed, Namekura-sama."

Oha shook her head and said, "I was more… worried about you kids."

"So, what do we do with this guy?" Meg wondered, holding up Calumon.

Loaño smirked and said, "I think you should take your partner home with you, Meg."

"My _what?"_ Meg demanded. She looked down at Calumon and _hiss_ed, "B-But... he eats all my food!"

"Wait, Calumon is Meg's partner?" Wild wondered. "When did this happen?"

"When he chose her backpack," Loaño explained. "Digimon partners aren't exclusive to Digidestined – any human can have one. I happen to be able to sense the bonds between humans and digimon, amongst my many other talents. That's how I was able to sense that Koromon and Wild were partners. I can sense that you might think he's annoying, Meg, but deep down you think he's cute."

"R-Really?" Calumon breathed, looking up at Meg.

Meg glowered at Loaño and growled, "You just need to shut your yap." She rolled her eyes and then said, _"Fine;_ I'll keep the rat. My Dad isn't going to like this, though…" She turned and went back into the house, grumbling and complaining all the way.

Wild rolled her eyes and followed her, Koromon in her arms. Yukio and Yokomon went inside after a few moments, and then Oha left as well, giving a lingering look at her garden before going inside.

"So…" Nikolai took a step towards Loaño. "You really _can_ sense that sort of thing?"

Loaño nodded and said, "Well, no… but I can sense people's emotions, and I can sense the Spirits if they reside within someone. The reason I knew that Koromon and Wild were destined to be partners was because they share the Spirit of Flame between them. The same goes for you and Yukio. What I said about Meg was true, though; I could tell she kind of liked Calumon despite him eating all her food, and that Calumon liked her despite her being mean to him. After all, he did choose _her_ backpack, over anyone else's."

"That's… interesting," Nikolai decided.

"The universe has a funny way of pushing people together," Loaño recalled. The felt the King smile within her. "Be they humans or digimon."

She put her hands into her pockets as she felt Nikolai looking at her. She kept herself from delving too deeply into his feelings. One part of her wanted desperately to know just what it was he felt when he looked at her, but the part that won out was the one that figured it was better if she didn't know.


	35. Episode 35

**Episode 35: Repairing the Garden**

"Well, that plan of yours went _fabulously,"_ Izanami complained, sighing. She rolled her eyes and brushed her hair away from her face. "Not only did you fail to get back that digimon you lost, your apparently _much stronger_ digimon slave failed and got itself Purified!"

Evan scoffed, "Don't lay all the blame on me! It ran into the _Princess_ – there was no way it would have been successful through that. I thought that her power would be weaker here!"

"Obviously it's not!" Izanami snapped.

"Why are you guys yelling like a bunch of silly idiots?" Veikko wondered, tilting his head at the two of them. "There's no point. We just need to figure something else out."

"Like what?" Izanami wondered. "Do _you_ have a plan in mind, Veikko?"

"We need to get rid of Nikolai," Evan decided, frowning. Izanami could sense the amnesty towards Nikolai emanating from Evan. It was clear he hated him.

"We need to get rid of _all_ of them," Izanami countered. "But you're right – his powers tend to foil a lot of our plans. Don't worry, though; I've got him handled."

"_Hey - _Nikolai is _my_ guy to beat the shit out of!" Evan accused.

Izanami rolled her eyes again and stated, "Believe me; I can get this done much better than you ever could. I know a few things about him, thanks to Veikko, that I can use."

Evan crossed his arms and looked at Veikko. He wondered, "Since when have you been doing spying for _her?"_

Veikko shrugged and answered with a sneer, "She asked nicely."

"What exactly have you found out, then?" Evan demanded. "I have a right to know, too."

"I know you do," Izanami agreed. "But I honestly don't want to hear your snappy attitude about this. Let's just say I have a way to get rid of Nikolai _and_ get us the Princess at the same time. Just let me work my magic and don't interfere."

"What, are you going to sleep with him or something?" Evan asked.

"One more comment like that and I'm going to kick your testicles in," Izanami decided, placing her hands at her hips.

"I'm just wondering how anything done to Nikolai could possibly drive the Princess anywhere towards us, unless…" Evan paused, and then smirked. "Oh. So you _are_ going to sleep with him!"

Izanami sighed and then swiftly kicked Evan in the crotch. He went down on his knees with a cry of, _"Worth it…"_

"You're done talking," Izanami said pointedly. She looked to Veikko and asked, "Any ideas?"

"Once he recovers," Veikko began, pointing at Evan, "we'll need to grab another digimon. A much stronger one. Can you do that, Evan baby?"

"Stop calling me _baby_ and I will," Evan seethed, still clearly in pain.

Veikko looked disappointed, and Izanami stepped in to say, "You'll do it anyway, unless you can come up with something better than Veikko's plan. Got it?"

"Why in the hell are you our leader again…?" Evan gasped.

Izanami shook her head and then looked to Veikko, offering, "Please; go on."

Veikko rubbed his hands together and began, "Well… I've got some information that I can use to make some noise. We're dealing with a group of delicate individuals… but the most delicate of them all is Tatsuya Namekura. She's the leader of the Digidestined – we break her, we break them. See where I'm going with this?"

"I do," Izanami agreed, "and I'm liking it."

"Me too," Evan decided, standing up. He rubbed his sore testicles through his pants and said, pain still evident in his voice, "I don't like her one bit. One of those _I'm smart and I know it_ types. What do you have in mind, Veikko?"

"Gather 'round and I'll tell you the tale," Veikko sang, raising his hands up and smiling like a lunatic, "of how we can grab this wild one by her tail~!" He ended the song with a cackling laugh and a gleam in his eyes that suggested he had something particularly nasty in mind.

* * *

Meg sighed and complained, "Well, my family seems to _love_ Calumon." She poked the aforementioned digimon in the stomach and grunted. Calumon winced and waved her away, pouting. "Now we have another mouth to eat all of my food."

"Calm down, Meg," Wild said flatly, patting her friend on the back. "It'll be all right. You'll get your fair share."

"What are you supposed to _do,_ anyway?" Meg wondered, staring at Calumon. She looked at Wild and asked, "What do digimon do?"

"Depends on the digimon," Koromon answered. "Some of us digivolve, some of us don't."

"Do you digivolve?" Meg asked Calumon. The white digimon shrugged shrank his ears into his head.

Wild gave Meg's back another pat and then said, "Leave him be, Meg; you're going to scare him. He'll be safe at my house. Now, we need to get to school. Will you come on?"

"Fine," Meg groaned. She looked pointedly at Calumon and explained, "It's rude to eat other people's snacks, you got that?"

Calumon nodded and promised, "I'll ask first!"

"Good boy," Meg decided, patting him lightly on the head. She stood up and decided, "Alright, let's go."

"Nikolai's going to kill us for wasting his gas," Wild decided. "Let's get moving. Bye, guys! We'll be back at the usual time!"

"Bye!" the digimon chanted. Yukio gave a nonchalant wave behind the screen of his laptop and Loaño gave them a nod. She was clearly lost in her thoughts. Wild frowned and decided, _When I get home I'll look into her past and see what I can find. That is, if nothing too distracting happens today…_

* * *

Nikolai rubbed his eyes. He had been up nearly half the night trying to get all of the information he could for the project. He hadn't gotten even halfway through before he had felt like he was going to pass out. He pulled the papers out of his backpack and looked over his scrawled, messy notes. All around him, the history class buzzed as groups gathered together and began sorting through all their work. Almost immediately their instructor was disbanding and remaking groups because of laziness and behavioral issues. Nikolai grimaced and hoped that it wouldn't happen to his group – he didn't know if he could handle this workload on his own.

Izanami approached him at his desk and tapped its surface to get his attention. He looked up from his notes and at her. She gave him a smirk and said, "I worked it out so that we can work in the hallway instead. I don't like all this distracting noise."

Nikolai nodded and agreed, "Me, either."

He gathered up his things that related to their project and followed Izanami out of the classroom and into the hallway. It was practically a ghost town out there, and Nikolai took a deep breath of air unclogged by high school drama. They set down their things and Izanami pulled out her netbook and began typing.

"I've already gotten a framework for our presentation done," she announced proudly.

"When did you find the time to do that?" Nikolai wondered, an eyebrow raised.

Izanami shrugged and told him, "So long as you know how to manage your time, you can get anything done. Take a look." She turned the netbook towards him and Nikolai examined the presentation. It was elegant, professional, and very well-done, and it was only just a skeleton. Izanami had already planned out all the slides, and what content would go where and in what order, and she had done it without making the presentation look head-achingly long.

"Nice," Nikolai determined.

"This grade is as good as perfect," Izanami chuckled, giving him a sincere smile. Nikolai smirked back and returned the netbook. It was light and, though Nikolai didn't know much of anything about computers, he could almost _feel_ how expensive the thing had been. "Now, let's see what you've done!"

"It's not much…" Nikolai admitted. He handed her his notes. "Certainly not everything you wanted done…"

"Well, of course," Izanami said, still smiling. "You have until next Tuesday for all of that. But this looks pretty detailed… and your writing's not horrible, for a foreigner. A little rough, though."

"Sorry," Nikolai told her, sighing. "I was never very good at elegant penmanship." He had learned how to read and write in Japanese when he was younger and had lived here before, around ten years ago, and he had kept up on it since, but when he compared his characters to some of the others that the students wrote, it was obvious he hadn't been born with a hand geared towards calligraphy.

"That's fine; it's legible," Izanami declared. She set it down by her side and began copying the notes into the appropriate slides of the presentation. While she typed, she said, "I'll just put all this in and add my stuff after school. We're pretty much done for today."

"Really?" Nikolai wondered. "That fast?"

Izanami giggled and said, "Like I told you; so long as you manage your time, you can get anything done. _Anything."_

Nikolai shivered involuntarily at the way she said that last part. The look in her eye made him feel warm all over, and yet still cold somehow. In a flash, that look was gone, and Izanami was all business again, working diligently. She told him, "Just keep up at this pace; you'll have it done in no time."

Nikolai frowned and nodded almost blankly. He didn't know exactly what that feeling in his stomach was, but it felt like a mixture of uncertainty and embarrassment… and he had no idea where it had all come from.

* * *

Wild found that the school day had indeed been boring (to her), and it had dragged on and on until the final dismissal. Nikolai seemed perturbed on the way back to her house, but Wild didn't really want to ask what was on his mind. Meg either didn't notice, or she didn't care, or both. Wild herself had a task in her mind that was causing her to divert most of her attention to. Nikolai would have to deal with his own problems himself.

They arrived at Wild's house in about fifteen minutes and made themselves at home. Meg went and got a snack, Calumon following her like a lost duckling. Koromon, Tsunomon, and Yokomon were, as always, watching kid's shows. They seemed to really like them and Wild didn't mind so long as they were entertained and unobtrusive as a result. Yukio was busy playing a game on his computer that didn't catch Wild's interest much at all. Loaño and Warugamon were absent.

"They're outside," Yukio responded when asked about the two. "Hime-chan wanted to help your mother with her garden."

"Ah," Wild decided. The garden had been a bit torn up by Petermon's attack, and Oha had been at her wits end for the past few hours trying to figure out how to fix it all. However, Oha didn't really like others trying to butt into her gardens – Wild supposed that she made an exception when Warugamon entered the picture.

Wild sat down on the couch and found her laptop. She opened it and booted it back up. While she was waiting, Nikolai offered, "I'll go out and see what's up."

"Don't you have a project to work on?" Yukio wondered absently.

"I'll work on it later," Nikolai told him. Tsunomon looked up from the show, but Nikolai raised a hand to him and said, "You can keep watching. I'll get you when I'm done and we'll go home, all right?"

Tsunomon nodded, almost reluctantly. Then, the little horned digimon turned back to his show. Koromon, however, bounced up to Wild's side as Nikolai left and asked, "What're you doing?"

"I'm looking up all the information I can about Lo," Wild replied. "I'm going to try and find a record of her in this world."

"Wow, really?" Koromon said, awestruck. His red eyes went big and then he asked, "What'll happen if you find it?"

Wild shrugged and then said, "Then Lo will know who she is. I'll be able to contact her family, and she can reunite with them."

"You think it will be that easy?" Yukio asked, skepticism in his voice. He looked away from his game and at Wild's screen.

"No," Wild admitted. "Without her surname, I won't be able to find much… but her name is unique enough that I doubt too many people have a name similar to it. Also, her race comes into play here."

"Race?" Yukio wondered.

Wild nodded and went on, "I know it sounds strange, but think about it – if I can narrow it all down by her race, I should be able to find records of her in a particular country. We don't have her last name, and the name _Loaño_ is really… well, I can't tell if it's Italian or Spanish or anything else, really. So, let's go by what we know – she speaks Japanese fluently; too fluently to be a foreigner like Nikolai. Her face and body type has clear Asian influences, but there's something else there…"

Koromon shook his ball of a body and grumbled, "My head hurts already; I don't like this game…"

"Sounds like a bad version of charades," Yukio agreed. He looked at Wild and wondered, "Why don't we just ask her?"

"Because she doesn't know herself," Wild reminded him. "She knows that she came from the Human World, but she doesn't remember details like that. She doesn't remember her last name, her family, her hometown, her old friends… anything. The only person who could possibly know something about it would be the Boss, and he wasn't at all forthcoming."

"True," Yukio decided, nodding his head. He shut down his game and returned to the Internet. He typed a little, and then hit Enter. The screen changed and Yukio explained, "A Google search of the name _Loaño_ gives a few results… mostly Facebook entries of people with the last name Loaño… and those are very, very few."

"You're not going to find it like that," Wild told him. "We're going to have to dig a bit deeper to find what we want."

"How are you going to do that?" Yokomon wondered, her big eyes wide.

Wild cracked her knuckles and admitted, "By doing a little dirty work."

"Wild…" Yukio began, "be careful. I might not be a computer genius, but I've done my fair share of dirty work. It's risky."

"Don't get arrested," Meg offered, walking into the room with a plate full of various microwaved snacks, like pizza rolls and mozzarella sticks. The smell was terribly appealing, and there was enough for everyone. Calumon had a hot snack in his mouth already, and he didn't seem bothered by the heat. The little digimon crowded Meg until she rolled her eyes and gave up a handful to each. She sat down near Wild and Yukio and added, "Remember that time you almost got caught?"

"I'm not worried," Wild admitted. "I've learned how to cover my tracks since then. I'll start with getting into Japan's collection of birth records. That's the most obvious place to start, and I have a feeling it won't be hard to get what I need…"

* * *

"Your garden is still very lovely," Loaño decided, looking at all of it. "It must be great in the summer."

Oha smiled and patted down the dirt over the bulb she had planted. The plant that had been there had been torn up and asunder, and she had no choice but to replace it. "Thank you…" she said quietly.

"I'm really sorry," Loaño offered again, for about the hundredth time.

"I know," Oha replied. "You… don't need to keep… saying it."

Loaño fumbled with her fingers and then said, "I know. I just feel really badly about it. I'm your guest, and I've ruined your garden… something that's so important to you."

"Like I said… plants will grow again," Oha told her. She looked up at Loaño, dirt smudged on her quiet, tired face, and she went on, "Next year, in the spring… these will bloom… just as pretty as… the ones before it."

Loaño bit her lip and thought, _I know that… and yet I get the feeling that I should be standing here, apologizing for all the wrongs that I have and will cause you… and I feel that I will cause you so many wrongs later…_

The King told her, stirring in his slumber, _Still your heart, little one. Oha Namekura may seem meek and tired, but inside of her is someone who can handle what is to come. That shell will break, as all manner of shells and shields and walls will break before this is over. Inside, she knows what you know – that no matter how many times her garden is destroyed, she will plant anew and let it grow._

Loaño sighed and determined that he was right – as he often was. Warugamon rumbled as a butterfly landed on his nose. He glared at it with icy eyes, but he couldn't seem to find the heart to move and make the butterfly fly away.

"When Tatsuya was younger…" Oha began suddenly, "she and her brother… Toushi… they fought and… squabbled… like brother and sister do… They always fought… One day, they were fighting… out here. In my gardens… Tatsuya accidentally stepped on… one of my flowers. Toushi teased her… relentlessly about it… He came and told… on her, right away. When I came outside… Tatsuya was trying to… replant the flower… trying to fix it. She was so little… it was so adorable to see… her doing that. She is so serious sometimes…"

Oha reached into her seed bag and pulled out a bulb that fit perfectly in the palm of her hand. "I gave her one… of these… and together, we… replanted it… in the same spot as the other. Each of my children… I have planted a flower for each of them. I replant them all… the time. The flower that got ripped… it was Tekku's."

"Tekku?" Loaño mumbled. Then, she recalled, "Her oldest brother?"

Oha nodded, her eyes wet. "Yes," she said, her voice tight; yet she was smiling. "Tekku. Then you know…?"

"Wild told me that he died," Loaño said, swallowing. "Around ten years ago."

Oha nodded again, though she said nothing. It was all the affirmation that Loaño needed. Oha took a deep breath and then continued, "Tatsuya… and Tekku… were close. Very close. When she was born… I planted a flower for her… When she was one year old… Tekku accidentally trampled… her flower, too. He had been… crying about it… in much the same way. Together… we replanted it… like I did with Tatsuya… years later. The two of them… they were so similar. Tatsuya looked up to him… and so did Toushi. Tekku loved both… his brother, and his sister. He was… what kept Toushi from… being too mean to Tatsuya. When he and Henshu died… we all changed."

"I'm sorry," Loaño murmured. "He sounds like a good person."

"He was," Oha agreed. "They both… were." She shook her head and then said, "Open your hand."

"Hm?" Loaño wondered.

"Go on… open your hand," Oha requested.

Loaño did, but she was uncertain about it. Oha placed the bulb into her palm and said, "Now plant it."

"Uh…"

"Come!" Oha chuckled. She grasped Loaño and pulled her down with surprising strength. Loaño landed on her knees in the dirt, staining her borrowed jeans. Oha guided Loaño's hand as Loaño dropped the bulb in the dirt and covered it. Oha smiled, her eyes filled with sadness and memory, and she said, "It's good to plant something… once in a while."

Loaño nodded and stood up. She brushed off her jeans and then bowed, saying, "Thank you, Namekura-sama."

"Please," Oha decided, "call me _Oha."_

"Oha…" Loaño repeated. "All right. Thank you, Oha. Do you need any more help?"

"No," Oha decided. "Go… join your friend, there. He has been… waiting for a… while… to talk to you."

Loaño blinked in surprise. Warugamon blinked as well, causing the butterfly to flutter away. Loaño turned to find that Nikolai was standing about the garden, amidst the flowers. Too caught off guard to say anything, Nikolai was the one who said, "What're you up to?"

"G-Gardening!" Loaño replied, still shocked. She wondered if he had heard the story about Wild and the flowers. "Just… planting seeds!"

"I see," Nikolai decided, smirking. "What kind of seeds?"

"Uh…" Loaño was at a loss. There were flowers in the Digital World, but they looked nothing like the ones here. She turned to Oha and looked down at the bag where the bulb had come from. She read its label and then replied, "Pink carnations."

"Specifically pink?" Nikolai asked.

Loaño nodded.

"Ah," Nikolai decided. "Then… maybe we should leave her to that."

A push from Warugamon made it clear that it was the right thing to do. She and Nikolai walked into the house, Warugamon padding after them, leaving Oha alone with her flowers.


	36. Episode 36

**Episode 36: A Piece of Her Past**

Wild was exhausted. She had spent the entirety of the night staring at her computer screen and almost constantly typing. She had been trying to infiltrate the birth records for their area for hours, finding it harder than she had thought. The last time she had something like this, she had been inexperienced and was nearly arrested – but this time, she was doing everything she possibly could to cover her tracks.

_Everything._

Just doing that had taken about four hours. She had to make sure that no one could identify the computer that she was using to do this – not to mention any _other_ device that was connected to this house. It would have been easier just to use someone else's WiFi signal to do this, but she didn't want anyone else getting into trouble over it. As easy it was to pin it on someone else by using their IP address instead, she knew that the people who worked for _any_ government were intelligent enough to be able to figure out who really did it.

She didn't think that birth records would be this hard to track down, but she supposed that they were private information and something that hospitals kept from prying eyes – like her's. She had searched every hospital in the area, systematically breaking into their information networks and sorting through every piece of data that started with the letter _L._

It occurred to Wild while she was doing this that _Loaño_ might not even be her real name. If that was the case, then this task would be all but impossible – unless the Boss knew what her real name had been. Loaño didn't know anything about her time in the Human World, which Wild figured to be a small amount of time compared to the time she spent in the Digital World. Because of the differences in time, logically Loaño had spent more time in that world with its laws, and it wasn't surprising that she would forget about the Human World.

_Who the hell would name their child _Loaño,_ anyway?_ Wild thought tiredly. _What the hell does it even mean?_ It seemed to be some perverted form of Italian, and it was terribly hard to pronounce, especially with her Japanese accent. Loaño herself had no problem with it, of course – which led Wild to believe that it was her real name – but everyone else was stumbling and fumbling over it. Hence the reason why they were using Meg's nickname, _Lo._ It marked one of the only times where Meg's laziness was actually useful.

Except Oha. Oha seemed to know exactly how to pronounce Loaño's name from the get-go. Why that was, Wild didn't know. Her mother had been acting strangely since she had brought Loaño and the digimon into the house – Oha had been more reclusive than before, quieter and more thoughtful.

Of course, it was hard for Wild to notice such things when she was busy trying to make sure that the digimon didn't cause any problems. They had been here for about a week, and while they were keeping out of sight, they seemed to be getting stir-crazy. Koromon especially wanted to go out and explore the world. With Wild busy researching different methods of illegally rifling through other people's personal information, it had been up to Nikolai and Yukio to keep them sane.

Warugamon didn't seem to care either way, content with acting like a dog. He slept at the foot of Loaño's borrowed bed and followed her around loyally, except when Loaño had to leave the house. Warugamon seemed used to having to hide himself, while the other digimon – Calumon included – were restless.

Loaño herself seemed to be adjusting, though slowly. She seemed reluctant to accept certain realities of the Human World, after living in the Digital World for so long. Wild got the sense that Loaño was very, very uncomfortable here, no matter how hard she tried to fit in and keep herself hidden. She didn't often leave the house and when she did, she was always accompanied by digimon and the Digidestined. While it didn't seem like Loaño minded that, Wild could swear that she was homesick.

For what home, though, Wild couldn't tell.

_All the more reason for me to figure this out as quickly and as thoroughly as possible,_ she thought. _I'm sure that once Loaño finds something – or someone – to connect with in this world, she'll be feeling a lot better about being here. A surname… a family member… anything…_

She looked away from the computer for a moment to glance at her bed. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, and even after they had accustomed themselves to the gloom, she was seeing spots out of the corner of her eyes. She looked at Koromon, sleeping soundly on her bed, tucked in neatly. Wild tugged at her ascot and then yawned, wishing to join him. Her limbs were aching with exhaustion and if her wrists could talk she figured they would be swearing at her.

But she turned back to the computer. She didn't want to go to sleep without anything found. It would be like a failure. She didn't like failures.

She kept going for another two hours, trying to keep her typing as quiet as possible. She went through another five hospitals without success until she finally came upon the only hospital in her area – a small one, without a lot of advanced equipment, but well-equipped enough to deliver children in. If one had to get chemotherapy or something like that, however, they would have to go to Tokyo.

With a yawn, she surfed through their birth records. There was a surprising amount – the town was well-populated with people, especially University students, so that was no surprise – though not many parents elected to give their children a name beginning with the letter _L._

Wild sorted through the handful of names. It was sorted surname first, of course, so she had to look through the list a few dozen times to find the first name that she was looking for. When another yawn made her eyes blurry, she decided that enough was enough, and that she would look through it one more time (with clean eyes) before resigning for the night. Or morning. Or whatever time it was.

She studied each name carefully until, finally, she found something. Something important.

Something interesting.

_Loaño…_ she thought. _Was born in this town?_ She blamed herself and her fatigue for missing the name before. She clicked on the name and the record popped up – a digital copy of her birth certificate, along with several other random facts about her birth, including all the shots she had been given and the typical footprint and fingerprint copies.

Wild scanned the certificate once more before hitting Ctrl and P on her keyboard. Her printer _humm_ed to life and quietly began spitting out five pages worth of information. Most of it was a jumble of HTML and random stuff that usually appears when one prints directly from something like that, but Wild had a clean, legible copy of the birth certificate and several other bits of information.

She turned on the desk lamp that sat on her desk, beside her monitor, to a low light setting. The light was dim enough so that it wouldn't wake Koromon or hurt Wild's eyes, but it was bright enough that she could make out a few key details on the printed certificate. Doctor's handwriting was always hard to read, but after a moment she could make out all the details.

"Bingo," she whispered to herself. "We have a lead."

* * *

"_Ishida?"_ Nikolai repeated. "Her last name is _Ishida?"_

Wild nodded.

"Why does that sound familiar?" Yukio wondered quietly. "Loaño _Ishida…_ damn. It's not really ringing any bells."

"Well, it had better start," Wild proclaimed, "because it took me nearly all night to get that and get off without getting caught. You guys can take it from here."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Nikolai wondered. "You know how many people have the last name _Ishida?"_

Wild shrugged and then said, "It's not my problem. You want to help with this project, then you can do this. I'm exhausted and, frankly, what I did was more work than this will be."

"I'm sure we can do it," Yukio mused. "With a little digging."

"I don't exactly have _time_ to do digging," Nikolai reminded them. "I have that project – you know, the one that if I _don't_ do, I don't graduate? I want to help – I really do – but Izanami's been riding my ass about getting shit done for it." He had just barely gotten enough work done to pass her scrutinizing eye – and now he had more work to do before next week!

"Oh, quit complaining," Meg groaned. Then, with a knowing smirk, she said, "You'll find a way to help, trust me."

"And what about you?" Yukio wondered, an eyebrow raised. "Are you helping?"

"Me, work?" Meg's eyes widened, and she went on, aghast, "You would have _me_ work…? You're all so _evil!"_

"Meg doesn't need to do anything," Wild offered, rolling her eyes. "She's involved, but this isn't her problem. I don't want her getting into trouble over this."

Meg smirked and then said with a sigh, "You know me so well, Tatsu-chan."

_Lazy bum,_ Nikolai thought flatly. He pushed it away. He had so far seen no evidence about Meg that proved that she would be contrary to her nature and, judging by the way that Wild dealt with her, Nikolai figured that the evidence wouldn't be coming anytime soon.

Finally, he asked, "Well, what do we say to her?" Loaño was outside, in the Namekura's backyard, playing with the little digimon. Warugamon was stubborn about it, but Wild convinced him to go outside. Oha was outside, too, checking up on her healing garden. The three Digidestined (along with Meg, who refused to go outside anyway) were all alone in Wild's house. "Do we just go up to her and say, _Hey, we found your birth certificate?"_

"As dumb as that sounds, that's probably the best option," Wild agreed tiredly. "How else would you reveal something like that? She needs to know _something._ We have to give her a reason to stay here with us."

"Yeah," Yukio agreed. "Anyone can tell that Hime-chan isn't comfortable here."

"Well, of _course_ she isn't," Meg complained. "And I don't think she's going to be too pleased about you guys trying to shove this world into her face. If she doesn't like it here, she doesn't like it here."

"This proves that she has family, though," Nikolai reminded her, tapping the certificate. "Parents, grandparents – maybe real brothers or sisters! Not that Lucemon isn't a _real_ brother to her or anything, but it's something to think about." He frowned, and then added, "But Meg's right – we can't force her to stay. The only reason she's still here is because we're all waiting on the Boss."

"Yeah, and how long do you think that's going to take?" Wild wondered. "It's been a week in our time. In theirs… it's been months. Whatever he's doing, he needs time to do it."

"Kimeramon _did_ kind of incinerate half the Forest Zone," Nikolai recalled, frowning. "Not to mention put a shit ton of digimon out of house and home."

"That, and he ended up making half of them Digieggs," Yukio agreed, sighing.

"Who knows what Crisis is doing there," Wild mused with a disgruntled frown. "Maybe the Boss is trying to look for a way to stop it?"

"We're questioning a digimon who obviously hasn't told us the entire truth," Yukio informed them. "It's like trying to question an enigma. We won't get anywhere. We simply don't know enough of what that thing is or what happened when it got out before."

"So… do we go right on ahead and just flat-out tell her?" Nikolai wondered.

"Not _we,"_ Wild complained, looking groggier by the second. "One of you two do it. I need to sleep for the next week." Nikolai threw her a look, and she added, "Not because I'm lazy or I don't care – that's Meg – but because _I'm tired._ I rooted up all this information in the first place. Besides… I'm no good at delivering news to people."

"You aren't?"

"She tends to be blunt," Meg offered, defending her friend. "She made someone cry once."

"Call me ignorant or what-have-you," Wild went on, yawning, "but I'm just not that good with people. Being sociable isn't part of my repertoire… which is very common for people with my talents. In my own defense, though, Meg is way worse."

"How so?" Yukio asked, an eyebrow raised curiously. He glanced at Meg, noted her expression, and then grunted, "I see." Looking at Nikolai, he offered, "So… looks like it's between you and me, Wheatley."

* * *

It ended up being Nikolai.

_Of course it ends up being me,_ he thought, sighing. He knew somewhere deep down that the moment the question was posed that all eyes would turn to him. It would take someone denser than iridium to not see that one coming.

_Why do they insist on picking on me?_ He wondered. It wasn't as if he knew the Princess at any extreme length – if anyone would fit that bill, it would be Wild. The two girls had lived together for a week and they'd known each other longer than the other Digidestined. Wild, for whatever reason, decided to use her tiredness and fatigue as a crutch – something that Nikolai did not expect her to do.

With a grunt, he realized that Wild's newly-developed trait must have come from Meg. Since Meg was technically Wild's only friend prior to her meeting the Digidestined, then it stood to reason that _something_ had rubbed off onto her.

It was nice outside – cool in the shade and warm in the sun, but not too warm. The young digimon were playing about in Oha's garden, watched over by Warugamon. Yokomon was hiding amongst Oha's flowers, daring Tsunomon and Koromon to find her. Tsunomon wasn't terribly interested in the game, but Koromon seemed to be having fun, bouncing here and there and gently touching flowers with his ears to feel for Yokomon. Warugamon looked content, but rather bored. Calumon was floating about Oha, helping her tend the garden.

Nikolai found Loaño sitting on the swing again. She seemed to like it there, and it looked comfortable. Documents in hand, he crossed over to her using the path through the flowers, picking his way carefully. It was quiet beneath the huge leaves and fading blossoms of the tree, and there were pink petals that fell at the touch of a breeze. It reminded him of the Flower Festival in the Forest Haven, though they didn't get to see much of it before it got interrupted by Aws and his puppets.

"Hey," Loaño offered, noticing him. She looked up at him with a thin smile on her face. "How's school going?"

"Fine," Nikolai said tersely. "My partner's a hardass. I've got another load of work due Friday."

He twisted the papers between his hands awkwardly, wondering if he should just turn back. Would it be better for her to live in ignorance of all of this, or not? He blinked once, and then found himself looking into her eyes. Those strange, silver eyes.

She needed to know.

"Hey, Lo…" he began.

"Yes?" she asked, naturally curious. Her eyes flickered to the papers in his hands, and she asked, "What're those for? Your project?"

Nikolai bit his lip and then offered, "Not quite. You see…"

It took some time to explain it to her. At first she hadn't believed him at all – she had thought he was joking. But then he showed her the papers – the certificate, the fingerprints, everything that Wild had managed to get from the place of her birth – and the look in her eyes showed that there wouldn't be anything he needed to do to convince her that it was all real.

"My name is… Ishida…" she murmured, looking at the papers with wide eyes. They were full of emotion, ones that Nikolai couldn't easily identify. She didn't appear to be sad, but yet… it was there, behind it all.

Nikolai adjusted himself on the ground. He had sat down to make the explaining easier, and now a root seemed to have found its way into his tailbone. He wrung his hands together and then said, "Your name is Loaño Ishida. You're sixteen years old."

"Sixteen…" she echoed. "Only sixteen…?"

"Well, I'm not sure how old you were when you got to the Digital World…" Nikolai said, "I know time is different between our worlds. Did you keep track of how old you were in the Digital World? Did you have a birthday?"

"I did, but it wasn't every year like it is here on Earth," Loaño replied. "It was just… once every few thousand years."

"Every few _thousand?!"_ Nikolai gasped, feeling his eye twitch. "Just… Just how old _are_ you in the Digital World…?"

Loaño's cheeks went red, and she held the papers close to her. She insisted, "You… you really don't want to know that…"

"I kind of do, now that you've mentioned it," Nikolai said, laughing. He ran a hand through his hair and got onto his knees. He positioned himself in front of her and insisted, "Come on, tell me!"

"No," she replied.

"You're only making me more curious!"

"Come on, Nikki – I… it's embarrassing!"

Nikolai wagged a finger in her face and then said playfully, "You tell me or I'll swing you so hard that you'll wrap around that branch."

Loaño frowned. She seemed to be torn between daring him to try and giving in. Obviously the latter was the option that she took, because she sighed, saying, _"Fine;_ I'll tell you. But no laughing, promise?"

"Promise," Nikolai swore.

Loaño took a deep breath and then said, "I am eighty-six thousand, four-hundred and six years old."

Nikolai wasn't sure what he had been expecting her to say. His mouth went dry, and he thought, _Over eighty-six _thousand_ years old?! Holy mother of shit!_ before he fell onto his back.

He could have sworn that he had blacked out for a moment, because when his eyes regained focus he found that Loaño was knelt beside him, staring him in the face with a bemused expression. It was sort of like how they had initially met – except she wasn't sitting on him this time.

"You OK?" she asked.

"Uh… yeah," Nikolai replied breathlessly. "What happened?"

"You kind of fell down," Loaño said sheepishly. "Was that my fault?"

"I have no idea," Nikolai answered. He sat up and shook himself, trying to get back into reality.

Loaño reached over and began pulling leaves and petals out of his tangled hair. "Jeez. I knew that it was rude to ask a woman how old she was in the Human World; but I didn't think it was _that_ rude. I'm sorry."

"Not your fault – I insisted," Nikolai breathed. "But _eight-six thousand years?_ By God, that's a _long_ time, Lo…"

Loaño shrugged and then said, "Didn't feel all that long to me. I was used to the way time worked there. But now that I'm here, _I'm_ the one confused. I'm doing my best to get used to it, but there are still times when I think I should be asleep, or eating dinner, or just stuff like that. It's hard to explain."

Nikolai agreed with her on that. Changing time zones was one thing, but the Digital World's time and the Human World's time were completely different from one another. Wild had figured out how to make a clock that would calculate the time difference as best as she could, but even she admitted that it wasn't totally complete. Nikolai had never doubted that Loaño had felt lost here – but now he knew it for certain.

"And, anyway…" she went on, holding the papers close to her chest. "What does all of this even _mean?"_

"It means that we can find your family," Nikolai answered gently. "We can find out a lot now that we have all of this."

"Does it say the names of my parents on here?" Loaño wondered, looking at the birth certificate. "I'm looking, but… this person's handwriting is a little odd."

"Doctors tend to have messy handwriting," Nikolai told her. "People say it comes from stress. But here are their names." He pointed to the section of the certificate that noted her parent's names.

Loaño narrowed her eyes to read. It took her a moment, but finally she said, "K-Kuro and… Molly? Is that right?"

"Yeah," Nikolai nodded. "I don't think your mother was from here. _Molly_ isn't exactly a common name here." _Neither is Loaño, but that's a whole other mess._

"Do you think that… maybe… we could find them?" Loaño wondered.

"We'll be looking, don't worry," Nikolai promised. "Not just for them, either – but for any other family you might have."

Loaño gave him a smile. "You… you promise?" she asked.

Nikolai nodded. "I promise," he said, holding his hand out to her.

Her eyes grew misty, and instead of shaking his hand, she threw her arms around his shoulders and held him tightly, tighter than he imagined that she could. Nikolai felt his face grow warm – not as warm as in the tower in the Digital World, but warm enough – and he found himself smiling.

"_Thank you,"_ she expressed, the gratitude deep in her voice. "Thank you _so much._ For everything."

Nikolai put a hand on the small of her back and said as she pulled away from him, looking embarrassed, "No problem. Lo, we're your friends. We'll do anything to make sure that you're happy."

"My friends…" Loaño murmured, looking at him. "You're my friend?"

Nikolai found himself nodding. He placed his other hand on her cheek, and suddenly he realized that his body was moving of its own accord. His head was screaming at him to pull away from her, but it was falling on deaf ears. His heart was beating so hard that it deafened all sound but her voice, and all he could seem to feel was the softness of her skin and the warmth that was spreading all over his body. He was shocked that he was even breathing at the moment.

And then suddenly… it was broken – shattered, like glass.

He found himself nodding as he pulled away from her, all his limbs more than reluctant. He didn't look her in the eye – he didn't want to see her expression. His mouth was too dry to speak, and he had no idea what he would say if he opened his mouth – he just had the feeling that now was not the time.

Instead, he coughed and stood up. He gathered himself up and then reached down to tousle her hair, messing it up more than it already was. He grunted, "Don't tell me that the big, tough Princess is going to get all sappy on me, now!"

Loaño squirmed away from him and stood up, fuming, the papers crinkled in her hands, growling, "Oh, you'll regret that, Nikolai! I am _not_ going sappy!"

"Could have fooled me!"

"Get over here and let me show you just how _sappy_ I can be!"

Nikolai was laughing, and she was fuming. _Maybe it's better this way,_ something inside of him said.

_Maybe it's better that she doesn't know._

* * *

Warugamon flicked his ears, looking over at Loaño and Nikolai. He was resisting the urge to leap over there and rip the boy to shreds. He dug his claws into the ground and let a low growl rumble from his stomach.

"Let them be," Oha said lightly.

Warugamon flicked an ear at her and looked over at her. She was much, much older than he recalled her being. The years had not treated her kindly at all. Though, considering what had happened all those years ago, Warugamon decided that he would be shocked if she were any different. After all, the years hadn't been kind to him, either. They weren't kind to anyone.

"Can you… hear them?" Oha asked.

Warugamon nodded.

"What are they… saying?"

"Things," Warugamon replied tersely, flicking his tail.

"I see."

Warugamon blinked at her, and then asked, "Do ya keep in contac' wit' Yosuya?"

Oha nodded. "Occasionally," she replied. "We meet… once in a while."

"I might be needin' ta speak wit' 'er soon," Warugamon told her, sighing. "As much's I don' wan' to." He looked over at Loaño and Nikolai, noting that the two were chasing one another around the great sakura tree like two fighting siblings. Or two play-fighting…

No, Warugamon didn't want to think of that.

_I'm too ol' fer this shit,_ he decided. _I canna bear ta watch 'er grow up in 'is place._

"I can… put you two in… contact," Oha promised. "Whenever you… wish."

"Tha's good ta know," Warugamon grunted. He flicked his tail again and then commented, growling, "They've liv'd in ignorance fer too long."


	37. Episode 37

**Episode 37: Striking A Fire**

Izanami stamped her foot on the ground. She wasn't normally an impatient sort of person, but her patience seemed to have left her. Veikko wandered about the woods beside her, kicking the roots of trees and cackling when the birds that lived in the branches fled _caw_ing and frightened.

"Would you stop that, Veikko?" Izanami demanded. "It's kind of annoying."

"But it's so fun to watch the little helpless birdies fly way in fear~!" Veikko laughed, kicking another root.

"If you kick the wrong tree, a hawk is going to come down and claw your face off," Izanami grumbled. _If that's the only way you'll learn, then fine._ She had no problem with Veikko's attitude – if it could be called that, anyway – but sometimes he made absolutely no sense.

_At least I can stand him more than I can stand Evan,_ Izanami thought, sighing. She really had no problem with Evan, either – she had worked with so many delinquents in the past that she had learned to tolerate their behavior, and even make it work to her advantage. Evan's attitude wasn't that of a delinquent, however; just that of an arrogant jerk. She couldn't count on two hands how many times she'd kicked him in the groin since the three of them began working together.

"He'll be here soon!" Veikko sang, bobbing his head back and forth to an invisible tune.

"I'm just worried that it might have gone wrong," Izanami admitted. "He's never taken control of a majorly powerful digimon like this before. With Kimeramon it was different – Kimeramon had a really simple mind and it was easy. This time, though…"

"He'll be fine~" Veikko promised, kicking another root. Izanami flinched at the force he used, and she wondered if he even felt it. Veikko's face gave away no hint of pain, though, and Izanami was left wondering just what the hell this guy was running on.

The leaves above him rustled and suddenly a hawk soared down, _caw_ing ferociously and flapping its wings. Veikko let out a _screech_ and took off running, the hawk chasing him. Izanami sighed, yawned, and watched, feeling satisfaction at being right.

Veikko stopped running and allowed the hawk to catch up to him. When the hawk bared its beak and talons for tearing out his eyes, Veikko skillfully grabbed the animal by its wings and, in a flash of light that made Izanami swear and cover her eyes, the hawk was nothing but ash and dust on the ground. Veikko held the bones from its wings in his hands, and he flashed them triumphantly.

"Will you be _careful?"_ Izanami swore, narrowing her dazzled eyes at him. "We don't want those Digidestined to know that DigiPower works here, too." It might not be as powerful or potent as it was in the Digital World, but DigiPower did indeed work in the Human World. Izanami didn't want to reveal that part of their hand, though – without digimon partners to lean on, their reserve s of DigiPower were lower than that of the Digidestined.

_We're better at using our powers, though,_ Izanami reflected, thinking of the battle with Kimeramon. She had almost gotten Yukio right where she had wanted him… _If the Princess hadn't stepped in, he would be nothing but sallow flesh and bones._

"Don't worry," Veikko promised, "that didn't take much out of me at all. I'm saving my strength for Tatsu."

"Don't be so confident," Izanami warned. "These guys aren't dumb. How are you so sure that she won't just worm her way out of it?"

Veikko turned and gave her a devilish grin. "Because _I'm_ the one who's going to ruin her life." He dropped the bones and raised a hand to Izanami, and she saw it flash with his Ruinous power. Izanami was a little unsettled by it, but she brushed it off. They had to do whatever it took to get rid of the Digidestined – before they found a way to defeat Crisis.

"Besides," Veikko went on, his voice lighter, "I have some revenge to exact. I want to get her back for what she did to me. I'm sure it's no different for you or Evan~"

"No, it's not," Izanami decided. "But don't get yourself hurt."

"I don't plan on it~" Veikko sang.

Izanami was about to mention something else to him, but her phone began gyrating in her pocket. She pulled it out, curious, and found that Evan was trying to contact her. She glanced at Veikko and said, "Come on."

"Evan's here~ Oh, goody!" Veikko cackled.

"He needs our help," Izanami mentioned. She read the message in more detail and smirked, adding, "He said he's found a… _wild one."_

* * *

_I'm only sixteen…_ Loaño thought. She leaned back against her chair, feeling strangely overwhelmed. _Just sixteen…_

It felt really strange to be told that. She had lived for so long in the Digital World… she had thought that it was always the way that time worked. The Boss, however, told her differently – the books that he had given her that were about the Human World showed her how time worked there – or here.

_Does that make me… old?_ She wondered. Humans didn't commonly live past a hundred, unless they kept themselves healthy. She had defied that – she had lived for far, far longer than most humans would ever hope to.

_In a way it does,_ the King told her. _In a way it does not. Little one, you are not "old" – you are experienced. Age is merely a number, little one. Your maturity is determined by how _you_ act, and how _you_ perceive situations. Your body is young, but your heart and mind are mature._

_Mature, how?_ Loaño wondered. _I know a lot about the Digital World. This world… I don't know anything about this world but from what I've read. In the Digital World, I'm a Princess – here, I'm… a fugitive. I'm a child._

The King was silent for a moment. Loaño pulled her knees up to her chin and then wrapped her arms around them, curling her toes around the edge of the char. The house was silent without Wild at home – she would be home from school soon, but in the meantime Loaño was mostly alone. Warugamon was downstairs with the other digimon, and Yukio was doing work. She was alone in her borrowed room with her thoughts.

_You are no child,_ the King reasoned finally, his voice calm and sage-like. _You are much more than you realize._

"Thanks for the advice," Loaño groaned. "But I've already figured that out. The Boss might be good at hiding things from people, but he's not _that_ good. Can I just be melancholy without you trying to cheer me up?"

_Is it that you don't want to be cheered up, or is it that you don't want _me_ to cheer you up?_ The King wondered. Loaño could sense a smirk in his voice.

Loaño flushed, and then insisted, "Shut up."

The King chuckled. _Nikolai won't be home from school any later than Wild,_ he offered. _You could always speak with him about this._

Loaño rolled her eyes and then groaned, "Will you quit it with that? He's my friend. _Just_ my friend."

_Uh-huh,_ the King chuckled. _So that's what it's called?_

Loaño closed her eyes and then mumbled, "He wouldn't want someone like me, anyway."

_And why would you say that?_

"Because he practically fainted when I told him how old I am," Loaño replied. "And… I'm a Princess. He probably thinks that… I'm too good for him or something."

The King's sympathies washed over her. _Oh, little one… I'm sure he doesn't think that._

"How could you know? You can only read my mind."

_Because it would be obvious,_ the King answered. _I care for you, little one – I care very much. Now put this worry out of your mind. There is much to do and experience in this world!_

"Then why do I have the feeling that this is going to end badly?" Loaño murmured. "I feel like something is going to happen. Something bad."

_I feel that, too,_ the King admitted. _But with the good comes the bad. You found something out about yourself yesterday – that was good._

"So it's all right for the universe to turn around and smack us in the face?"

_One turn deserves another._

"The universe sucks."

* * *

Nikolai held his head in his hands and then complained, "This project tis going to _kill_ me, I swear…"

"Which one?" Meg wondered dully. "The one where if you don't do good, you don't pass, or the one for your girlfriend?" She grinned at Nikolai, knowing full well that she was provoking him, her fork stabbed securely into her food.

Wild rolled her eyes and Nikolai retorted, "She's _not_ my girlfriend!"

"Oh, give it a rest, will you?" Wild complained. She threw Meg a glance and then asked, "Why do you insist on pestering him?"

"Because his hair gets fluffier when he's upset," Meg replied, smirking lazily. "It's hilarious."

"Why, you…!" Nikolai seethed, frowning at her. Wild blinked at him, and then realized that Meg was right – his hair did fluff up a little more when he was upset. She found herself smirking at it.

"See? It's funny!" Meg chuckled.

"I'll give you that," Wild decided, losing the smirk. She poked at her arranged food and then said, "But leave him alone."

"So, this is where you sit at lunch, then?"

A shadow passed over the group, and Wild looked behind her to find Izanami Sugeshini standing there, a tray of food in her hands. Her long black hair was done up in a tidy, neat bun, and her uniform was perfect in every way. The food on her plate was sparse, but healthy.

"Izanami!" Nikolai gaped. "What're you doing here?"

"I thought that since we're working together on that project, we ought to take all the time we can to work on the details," Izanami replied, her tone intelligent and, to Wild, a little condescending. In fact, her entire demeanor radiated a subtle arrogance that just rubbed Wild the wrong way.

"Suddenly I have no idea which project I was talking about earlier," Meg grumbled, before Wild jabbed her with an elbow.

"You want to sit with us?" Nikolai wondered, an eyebrow raised. "What about your friends?"

Izanami shrugged, and then offered, "I need a change of pace. Besides, I want this project done as much as you do – and I want it done well. I don't think your… companions… will mind?"

"Pfft," Meg scoffed, "the day I give a shit is the day that they stop serving food here." Then, she promptly turned and resumed packing her face with food.

Wild, however, remained silent, staring at Izanami, daring the black-haired girl to look her in the eyes. Izanami seemed to be avoiding it, however, acting as if Wild wasn't even there. _Something isn't right,_ she decided. _I don't like this._ Never in the past ten years of her schooling career had she had anyone approach her like this, other than Meg. She had normally enjoyed her lunches in privacy. She had tended to get violent with those who questioned her strange eating habits, or her strange habits in general.

Again, a time when having a friend who doesn't care about much of anything but food – if anything else at all – came in handy.

Izanami didn't wait for Wild to confirm or deny her sitting – she sat down anyway, close to Nikolai, who looked rather flustered and uncomfortable with her intrusion. Izanami smiled at all of them and then said, her voice painfully cheerful, "Don't you guys get tired of sitting all alone like this?"

"I prefer it," Meg commented, _slurp_ing a noodle loudly into her mouth without care. "People are annoying."

"I-I just came here recently," Nikolai answered. "And I met these two. We're…"

"Friends," Wild said curtly, her tone terse and threatening. She gripped her chopsticks, feeling her nails dig into her palms. _You shouldn't be here – go away,_ she thought, narrowing her eyes, _I don't like you here._

"Tatsu-chan, you OK there?" Meg wondered quietly. She laid a hand on Wild's whitening fist, slipped her thumb inside, and then with a kink of her knuckle, she loosened Wild's fist.

Wild blinked out of her trance, glancing at Meg. She mouthed, _Thanks,_ to which Meg replied with a shrug, though concern showed in her eyes.

"You know, all of that tastes better together," Izanami pointed out, gesturing at Wild's food.

Wild looked up and her and then said tartly, "You don't see me telling you how to eat your food."

"Are you always this grumpy?" Izanami wondered, frowning. But there was a sparkle in her eye, a sparkle that Wild didn't like. "Or is it only when someone sits where you don't like?"

Wild stood up.

"Hey, hey!" Nikolai called, raising his hands. "Quit it, will you? Wild didn't do anything to you, Izanami."

"I was just asking a question," Izanami admitted, shrugging, as if she had done nothing wrong. "It's up to her if she get so upset about it."

"I wasn't getting upset," Wild said coolly, "I was going to throw my food away. I'm done eating." She picked up her tray, which had about half the food eaten from it, and then blinked at Izanami. "If there's a problem with that, I don't see it."

"See, Nikki? No problem here!" Izanami giggled. "You get worked up easily!"

_But there is a problem,_ Wild realized. _I just can't see it._ She didn't like that. "I'll see you guys later," she said, before turning away from them.

She tossed her food into the nearest receptacle, and then opened her palm. There were marks from her fingernails there – sore, red little crescents embedded into her skin. It would have gone much further had Meg not stopped her from tearing into her skin.

It had been a combination of Izanami's arrival and something else that had made those marks. Wild didn't like the feeling she was getting – there was a tension in the air that she didn't like. Despite being in the noisy lunchroom, things were too quiet, in her opinion, and they'd been quiet for too long.

_Something is coming,_ she thought, closing her fists to hide the marks. _Something bad._

* * *

"What's up, Wild?" Koromon wondered. "You've been pretty quiet today."

Wild looked down at him, where he rested in her arms. The evening sky was turning him from pink to red, and his eyes gleamed up at her. Wild fumbled with her ascot, frowning, and then said, "It's nothing."

"I don't believe that," Koromon noted, "but all right."

Wild walked towards the great tree in her backyard. Nikolai and Yukio, along with their digimon, had gone home, but they would be back tomorrow, like always. It had been a while since Wild had just… come outside.

She approached the swing and then sat down, Koromon on her lap. She moved the swing just a little, so that they were lightly swaying to and fro. The glass sculptures caught the light of the fading sun and sparkled everywhere, speckling the world around them with tiny, colorful dots.

"What are those, Wild?" Koromon wondered. "You said that they were memories, or something, but… what _are_ they, really?"

"They _are_ memories," Wild replied, "of a sort. They're charms that my mother made – the last things that she ever made. They represent my father and my brother, Tekku's, spirits."

"Oh," Koromon breathed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad."

"It's fine," Wild said curtly, though her voice was taught and tight. She felt a lump growing in her throat as images of her father and her brother flashed before her eyes. "It was a long time ago. I'm fine."

Koromon snuggled close to her and then said, "I'm sure they were awesome people, Wild – just like you…"

Wild smiled, and then patted him on the head. "They would have liked to meet you, Koromon." _Tekku would have loved you instantly, and my father would be so interested in the Digital World… he'd be so proud of me… I… Dammit, I need to stop. Toushi is right – who could be proud of what I've become?_

"Wild?" Koromon wondered, his ears twitching.

"Hm?" Wild wondered. She thought for a moment that he had sensed the disturbance in her thoughts – he had before – but this seemed different. "What's wrong?"

"Something broke inside the house," Koromon said, his ears twitching more. "I think I hear your Mom crying."

Wild felt her heart rate begin to accelerate. She hopped off the swing, Koromon held securely in her arms, and said, "Something's happened. Come on."

* * *

She rushed into the house, finding it quiet. She listened carefully, and indeed heard her mother crying. She looked at the kitchen table to find that there was a pile of glass – ironically the teacup she had just bought – on it. Wild bit her lip and shivered, wondering what had happened.

Wild stepped into the living room, and she suddenly became aware of the fact that the television was on. She saw her mother sitting on the couch, her face buried in her hands. Loaño was sitting with her, an arm on her back and a lap full of tissues. Warugamon stared at the flashing screen, but when Wild entered the room, he grunted, "Ya migh' wanna ta'e a look 'at this."

Stepping into the view of the television screen, Wild nearly dropped Koromon with what she saw.

"_Toushi…"_ she whispered.

The University of Tokyo was displayed on the screen – and it was ablaze. Half a building seemed to have exploded, according to a reporter, and more explosions were seen in the background as the frantic reporter tried to give some sort of explanation as to what was happening. Police, firemen, and ambulatory staff were everywhere, and there were half a thousand students gathered about behind their lines, most of them injured.

None of them were Toushi.

And then something rose from the smoke and gave a terrible _ROAR_ that caused the camera man to drop his camera. All they could see was the ground for a moment, before he picked it up and got a view of a massive, monstrous creature.

"It's them," Warugamon growled.

"They brought out some big guns this time," Loaño determined. "And they're attacking the University."

"Hey! Isn't that where your other brother goes?" Koromon wondered, having not heard Wild earlier.

"Toushi…" was all Wild murmured. She shook her head – she had to pull it together. There was no way she was going to let Toushi get hurt – or worse. _I let Tekku die; I won't let you do the same!_

Her phone was ringing before she even dialed a number. She put it to her ear and said, "I know."

"What do we do?" Yukio demanded.

"We stop it," Wild said curtly. "No matter what. It can't be allowed to do more damage. Yukio, I want you and Nikolai to meet me there."

"Done," Yukio declared.

"We don't have time to fool around on this one," Wild reminded him.

"They aren't giving us time," Yukio commented. "We'll be there." He hung up without another word.

"What about us?" Loaño wondered. "I can -!"

"No," Wild said immediately. "You need to stay here – Warugamon, too. If they're attacking the University, it must mean that they're trying to attack me. They could come here, and I don't want my mother undefended."

Loaño opened her mouth to protest, but Warugamon butted in and then said, "Understood. Go – like ya said, ya don' got time to fool about."

Wild didn't bother asking her mother for permission to steal the keys for her car. There would be no other way for her to get to the University – it was too far to get to on foot. She found the keys by the door and, Koromon in tow, she left the house.

Outside, she could hear the sirens from here. Koromon's ears twitched, and he commented, "This is bad, Wild – this is really bad. They could _kill_ people!"

"If they haven't already," Wild grumbled. "It's our job to make sure that they don't hurt anyone. I won't let it happen, Koromon. I won't let someone die because of me." _Not again. And not Toushi._

"Then let's go kick their ass!" Koromon cheered, baring his teeth.

Wild unlocked her mother's car and slipped inside, plopping Koromon on the passenger's seat. She closed the door, buckled up, and started the engine. She adjusted her mirrors, put it in gear, and then Koromon commented, "Wait… can you even drive?"

"That's not really the most pertinent issue right now, is it?" Wild asked impatiently.

"Well, I was just wondering… Nikki said you needed a license to drive…"

"All the police we have are at the University, Koromon. I don't think I'll be stopped on my way there. And if anyone stops us, we'll just have to let them know by force that we're there to help," Wild declared.

_This time, they've gone too far,_ she thought, taking off onto the road at a high speed. _If they can go any further than this, then I'll be decently shocked. They can splice together digimon to create a monstrosity, act like complete assholes, and who knows what else… but this… attacking _me…_ That is not something that I will stand for._

_They will pay._


End file.
